A New War
by thomthom830
Summary: Continuation of This Means War movie. TuckOC, LaurenFDR. Changes Are Coming For Both Tuck and FDR. How Will They Handle Them? And Who Is This New Woman? Rated T For Now. Some Chapters Might Be M Later.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Welcome to my first _This Means War_ fic. Please be kind. Let me know what you think. Thanks much in advance!

A New War

Chapter 1

"I'll let you shoot first as long as you get out of this terrible mood you're in," FDR said.

Tuck eyed his partner warily, but said nothing.

"Seriously, man; I don't like seeing you like this. It's…weird," FDR continued.

"Well, I'm sorry. My marriage just failed…again. I had to miss my son's karate match today and we're stuck in DC in the middle of winter," Tuck grumbled. "There was a reason I moved to California from Britain."

"Yeah, your parents moved here…" FDR mumbled.

The two CIA agents had been in the country's capital for about 18 hours. It hadn't stopped snowing and everyone in the damn city seemed miserable.

Tuck adjusted the collar of his navy blue pea coat to keep the snow off of the back of his neck and sighed.

"I'm sorry, mate. I know you're missing Lauren, too," Tuck said in his English accented voice.

FDR nodded and kicked the snow off the top of his boot as they walked.

"She wasn't exactly pleased when I told her two seconds after she told me she was pregnant that I was flying across country for an unknown length of time," FDR said.

"I can imagine," Tuck conceded. "I am really pleased for the both of you, mate."

"I know you are. Just because you're sullen and grouchy all the time doesn't mean you aren't still my best friend," FDR said.

"So you'll be naming the child after me?" Tuck asked, finally cracking a smile.

"What if it's a girl?" FDR smiled. "I mean, it works for me, but…"

"Shut up," he said as he landed a swift elbow to FDR's ribs.

"I really wanted it to work out with Katie," Tuck said. "I just…"

"You wanted it to work for Joe. Not you or Katie. And that's admirable, dude, for sure. But you need to be happy, too."

"Relationship advice from you?"

"Who's the happily married man in this conversation?"

Tuck knew that FDR was right. He and Lauren had gotten married just over six months ago and FDR had shared the good news about their impending child on the flight out to Washington DC.

The two men turned down an alley and met with an informant on their case. The man they spoke with had a thick accent, Slavic in nature, Tuck decided, although it was hard for him to distinguish from behind a thick balaclava. The information, however, was exactly what both Tuck and FDR thought they were going to get.

It was not good news in the slightest.

The items that were being fenced, some of the most precious and rare gems in existence, had already gone to the black market. And these people weren't the kind of people that felt it necessary to record the whereabouts of the fenced items.

"Collins isn't going to be pleased," Tuck said as they started their walk back to their hotel across town.

"Collins isn't the only one. Lauren is going to be pissed," FDR said. "I told her this would be an easy one."

"Like she actually believed you? You always say that," Tuck laughed.

"I can't help that I'm incredibly believable," FDR replied. "But I think I have a solution for your problem."

"What problem?" Tuck asked.

"I think you just need to get laid."

Tuck threw a dirty look in FDR's direction, but did not answer him.

"Seriously; when was the last time you've had sex?" FDR asked.

Their hotel was now in sight and Tuck just wanted to get inside and get warm. He didn't want to answer anymore of his questions.

"It's none of your business," Tuck replied in a clipped tone.

"I have two responses for that," he held up one finger. "One: you're my best friend and therefore your business is my business and two," he held up a second finger. "Two: that response means it's been far too long."

FDR laughed, but Tuck looked like he was going to punch him.

"I'm extremely happy for both you and Lauren," he said as they strolled up to the doors of their hotel. "I just haven't been attracted to anyone since…"

FDR was first at the doors and pulled it open as Tuck noticed first a man running towards them and then a woman chasing after him. Without hesitation Tuck took the steps down quickly and tackled the man to the ground, knocking the wind out of both him and the guy in the process.

Tuck, breathing hard, looked up as the woman who he now realized was wearing high heels and only a thin coat, was carrying a Glock and had handcuffs in her hands, too.

"Thanks, mate," she said in a softly accented voice.

Tuck smiled up at her.

"No problem," he replied.

She had long, dark hair and a slim body. The high heels were actually knee high boots with extremely thin heels. It was a miracle she hadn't done serious injury to herself running in them.

"Do you need…?" he said as he motioned towards the man on the ground.

"I'm fine," she said putting her right knee into the man's back. He made a loud groaning sound and Tuck saw a smile form on her perfectly shaped lips.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He didn't want to walk away from her; he was drawn to her for some reason.

She nodded.

"Come on, Tuck. She said she's got it," FDR called. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the woman's face. He thought he recognized her, but said nothing further.

Tuck watched as the woman got her handcuffs around the man's beefy wrists. He struggled against her, but she didn't let up and eventually the man gave up his fight and lay limply on the ground.

The woman hauled the restrained man to his feet without much effort.

"Thank you," the woman said again in her accented voice.

"Are you a cop?" Tuck asked.

"Bond enforcement agent," she replied.

"A bounty hunter," Tuck smiled. "Pretty professional skills for a bounty hunter."

The handcuffed man spat in Tuck's direction, but he sidestepped the insult and it fell to the left of his feet.

"A woman has to know how to protect herself," she replied, throwing a hood over the man's head. "Sorry about that," she said, apologizing for the man in her custody.

"No problem," Tuck replied. "You're sure you're all right?"

She nodded. "I've handled bigger ones than this before," she smiled, obviously flirting with him.

She and Tuck locked eyes for a few more seconds before she turned her attention back to the man in her custody.

"Come on, shove on," she said to the man to get him to start walking. "Don't make me use the taser."

She started back down the street, speaking Russian to the man. Tuck strained his ears to hear what she was saying. He could make out that she was asking, no, _demanding_, that he tell her where something was.

As he was concentrating, he didn't notice FDR walk down the steps towards him. He jumped a mile when he clasped him on the back.

"Holy shit," Tuck replied, looking at his best friend for an explanation.

FDR shrugged. "You were staring at her."

Tuck shook his head and headed up the stairs to the hotel once more. "She was asking that man where something was. It sounded important."

"Let it go, Tuck," FDR said. "Let's get a drink."

Tuck nodded at his friend and then followed him into the hotel's bar.

"What was all that about?" FDR said once he had a beer in front of him.

Tuck took a long drink of his own and studied the fingerprints that he'd left on the chilled glass.

"What?"

"Earth to Tuck," FDR said.

Tuck looked up and into his friend's face.

"What is wrong with you?"

"I just wonder who she was," Tuck said by means of an explanation.

"Why didn't you ask Ms. Bounty Hunter for a business card when you helped tackle her perp?" FDR asked laughing. "I mean, you probably could go get yourself arrested and jump bail."

"That's really funny, mate," Tuck replied without a single touch of amusement in his voice.

Working for the CIA, both Tuck and FDR had met their fair share of beautiful women. A long while ago, he'd met Katie. She was funny, cute and smart. But before he could say that he'd fallen entirely in love with her, they found out she was pregnant.

Tuck had married Katie out of obligation more than anything. And he'd been blessed with Joe who was the best son that could have ever existed. Tuck and Katie learned to love one another, if for the sake of their son, but it didn't matter. It wasn't enough. Tuck was constantly gone, constantly lying to both Katie and Joe. They divorced and they split custody of their son.

Then, in an act of desperation and pure luck, he'd met Lauren Scott. But, so had FDR. What had ensued after that was comical now, but had been incredibly frustrating at the time.

Tuck couldn't begrudge his best friend the love he'd found with Lauren, though. Even though he wished it was himself, he and Lauren made a great couple. And now they were expecting a child.

This woman, despite only having spoken to her for a short while, intrigued him. Even though Tuck had assisted her in the take down, she'd been able to handcuff the guy and haul him to his feet by herself. He'd tried to memorize her face and body as best as he could; he was going to find her.

FDR finished his beer.

"I'm going to call Collins," he said, standing up. "See you upstairs."

Tuck nodded and FDR walked out of the bar, smirking to himself.

… …

The man, handcuffed behind his back with the hood over his head, sat in a chair in a white room. He was all alone. Until he heard the door scrape open and a pair of heels click across the floor. The steps stopped right in front of him and the hood was ripped from him.

The man hung his head down, not meeting her eyes.

"Bounty hunter, my ass," the man said in a low tone. It was the first thing he'd said since she'd cuffed him.

She pushed up the sleeves of her jacket and inspected her fingernails.

"You chipped one of my nails," she said, no accent this time. "And you're right; I'm not a bounty hunter."

"You look damn good in those boots," he replied.

"Mr. Roberts…that's what you're going by now, right? It's Alexander Vladimir, really, though, right?"

He said nothing.

"Listen, it's late, I have a flight to catch back home. You got tackled by a stranger and handcuffed by a girl, it's been a rough night," she said. "I'm Agent Amanda Simons and I work for the CIA."

She leaned against the other table and stretched her legs out in front of her. She was dressed in dark skinny jeans and a black zip up athletic jacket. She was still wearing the knee high boots from earlier. She had blue eyes and dark curly hair.

The man looked her over approvingly, but still said nothing.

Amanda put her stiletto heel down into the shoeless prisoner's foot and he howled in pain. It sliced into the meat of his foot instantaneously and blood began to pool on the top before dribbling around his whole right foot.

"I need you to tell me where that last batch was headed," Amanda said, bending down to meet his eyes.

"I want a lawyer," he growled.

"I'm not a cop," she smiled back. "No one knows you're here, sir. We're going to treat you as nicely as possible while you're here, but you're going to be here for a while if you don't give me what information you have."

The man shook his head. "I don't know anything."

"Bullshit."

"Believe me when I say this, I'm the nicest person you're going to deal with here, and I put my heel through your foot," she said. "Remember that?" she pointed to his now-bloody right foot.

She walked around him and put her hands on his shoulders and massaged them for a second. He let out an involuntary groan of pleasure; his shoulders were definitely sore from being handcuffed.

Her hands moved up his neck and one dug into the hair at the back of his head. His enjoyment was lost as he growled in pain once more.

As she opened her mouth to say something, her cell phone began to ring.

She pulled her phone out of her back pocket with her free hand and looked at the display. "I have to take this," she explained, not releasing her grip on the man's hair.

"Hi, honey," she said sweetly. "What's going on?"

She listened intently as the person on the other end of the phone chattered away.

"I'll definitely be home in the morning. I'll be getting home while you're still asleep and then I'll be taking you to school," Amanda explained. "I promise. Can I talk to Cameron?" she asked. "I love you, too."

She waited a second while the phone was passed along on the other end.

"Hey, Cam," she said. "Everything okay?" she waited for a response. "Yes, you can borrow those earrings. Yes, I'll be home to help with your hair in the morning. It's just a boring old business trip, you know, just meetings and taking notes."

Amanda was silent again for a minute. "Love you, Cam. Give Sophie a kiss for me. And give Thomthom a treat for me. See you in the morning."

Amanda disconnected the call and slid the phone back in her pocket.

"How touching," the man said after thirty seconds of silence.

Amanda wrenched the man's head back and looked down at him.

"Shut up. I clearly have a place to be and I made a promise. I don't break my promises. Especially to those girls."

A handful of hair, one more stiletto wound and some curse words later, Amanda had her answers. She stepped out of the room while two more agents rushed in to take care of the wounded prisoner.

"I got what we needed," she said to a tall man standing in the corner. His arms were crossed over his chest and he had an impassive look on his face.

"You aren't going to congratulate me?" she asked, smirking.

"You need to go clean the blood off of your heels."

"I'll have time on the flight back to California, Ed," she said. "Did you miss me?"

The man smiled for the first time since she'd stepped out of the interrogation room.

"Department hasn't been the same since you transferred."

"That's nice to hear," she said. "I start at the new office on Monday. I gotta go, now, though. Flight to catch."

She waved goodbye to her former boss and was gone. She had three days until she was officially back to work. It had been a hard transition, but she'd had fun spending time with the girls.

Hailing a cab, she made her way to the airport, with only her purse. It had been a last minute flight that she wasn't going to be able to do for much longer. She hated flying anyway. She just wanted to get to her new home.

She finally closed her eyes once she was on the plane. She didn't realize how exhausted she was until she'd relaxed into the plush seat. In a few hours, she'd be back to pretending she was a mild-mannered (and nerdy) secretary at a law firm. That's what her cover was for this trip. As she started to doze off, her mind wandered to the man who helped tackle her. He'd been incredibly good-looking and charming. His accent surprised her, but probably not as much as hers surprised him.

She fell into a deep sleep thinking of the man in the blue pea coat. Amanda knew she'd never see him again, especially as she was flying back to California, but he'd at least be in her dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

A New War

Chapter 2

Amanda had snuck into her own house at four am, careful not to wake anyone up. She'd had just enough time to collapse, fully clothed, on her bed for a solid two hour nap.

She had changed out of her skinny jeans and boots on the plane in favor of yoga pants and flip-flops; there was no reason she shouldn't be comfortable.

Promptly at 6:15 am, her bedroom door creaked open and she was pounced on by a small child.

"You're home!" the small girl shouted at her. It didn't matter that she was asleep previously. She wanted Amanda awake.

Amanda's eyes were open in an instant and she pulled the small girl into a tight hug.

"I promised I would be, didn't I?" Amanda said, smiling and then yawning. "Did you miss me?"

The girl nodded and shoved the bear she was holding into Amanda's arms so she could hug him, too.

"Did Bernie miss me, too?" Amanda laughed.

"He always misses you," she replied.

"I'm sure you took excellent care of him, though. That's why I gave him to you to look after; you're very responsible when it comes to taking care of teddy bears," Amanda nodded. "Especially ones named Bernie."

The girl squeezed the bear tightly to herself once more.

"So, what do you want for breakfast?" Amanda asked as she stretched.

"Waffles!"

"'Kay, Soph," Amanda said through another yawn. "Waffles, it is. Are your sisters up?" she asked as she moved off of the bed. She hated to move from the comfy cocoon she had created for herself, but things had to be done. The day had to start even though she wasn't quite ready for it.

"I don't know," Sophie replied. "I'll go check!" she raced out of the room without another word.

Amanda heard one bedroom door bang open into the wall behind it.

"This isn't going to go well," Amanda said out loud to her now-empty room.

By 7:45, she had all of her girls fed, dressed and packed in the car on the way to school. Cameron, the oldest at 15 years old, was in the passenger seat next to Amanda. She would be dropped off first at the high school. Alexandra, the middle girl was 12, sat behind Cam, and she would be dropped next door at the junior high. Sophie was in her booster seat next to Alex and was 5. She would be dropped at her kindergarten class at her school across town.

All three girls were blond and blue-eyed; and all of them insisted on wearing their hair long. It fell completely straight, everyday, without any work. It made Amanda slightly jealous that her brown hair had a natural curl to it and required 45 minutes with a straightening iron to get it as straight as theirs.

"So, where did you have to go?" Cameron asked in between rapidly sending out text messages to her friends.

"You're going to see them in a few minutes, why are you texting them?" Amanda asked as a response.

"Uh, duh; it's to find out what they're all wearing," Cameron replied.

Amanda rolled her eyes behind her mirror-like sunglasses. It hadn't been that long since she'd been a teenager, but she definitely didn't remember texting her friends to find out what they were wearing every morning; it didn't seem important. That and she didn't have a cell phone until she was almost 18 years old.

"And you didn't answer my question," Cameron added. She was too smart for her young age.

"I had to help out at a meeting for Mr. Benedict. Since I'm his secretary, he wanted me to go and take the meeting notes personally," Amanda explained. "And since I like taking notes, I figured I could go." She'd been lying since she moved out there; she hadn't been working, except for some research work from home, since she'd moved to California. Mr. Benedict probably _did_ exist, but not in Amanda's world.

Cameron sighed. "You're such a nerd," Cam laughed. "Did you at least go somewhere fun, like Vegas or Miami? Because if you left us with that weird lady for somewhere lame…" she trailed off. "She dresses worse than you do."

Amanda looked mock-offended at the 'nerd' comment, but then smiled when Cameron mentioned the person who'd babysat for Amanda last night. Since the CIA was in such a pinch to get the guy back in DC, they'd sent an agent to watch the girls.

The woman they'd sent was named Cynthia. She had black hair done up in a tight bun and she was wearing an ill-fitting suit and wide-rimmed glasses. The story they'd told the girls was that Cynthia was someone from the same law firm; that Amanda's boss had arranged for her to help Amanda out because it was _that_ vital that she went. It wasn't the best of lies she'd ever come up with, but it had to work since they were cutting it so close.

Amanda sent her home as soon as she'd opened the front door.

"It was in DC," Amanda explained.

They pulled up in front of the high school and Cam's hand was on the door handle. Amanda re-locked the door and turned to her.

"Are you coming home right after school?" Amanda asked.

Cameron unlocked the car door manually and was halfway out of the car as she answered her.

"No, I have cheer practice tonight, then there's a game at 7 that I _have_ to be at. Then we're having a sleepover at Steph's, remember?"

Amanda thought for a minute and then it all clicked.

"I _just_ told you yesterday," Cam added in an annoyed tone. "You _already_ forgot?"

Amanda remembered. It was in the first few minutes of her chase with the man last night that was now in CIA custody.

"Right, right," she said. "Have a great day! Call me if you need anything."

"I'll be fine," she said before slamming the car door closed behind her.

"Good talk," Amanda mumbled. "All right, next stop: the junior high!"

Once Amanda had the three girls dropped off at their respective schools, she drove herself home. She wasn't scheduled in at the new CIA office in Los Angeles until Monday, but she figured she'd make an appearance and meet her new boss in person.

She'd moved to California only weeks ago, buying a house without actually seeing it. But this one was big enough for her, the three girls, and the cat _and_ was in her price range. And it had the added benefit of being in a relatively safe neighborhood and had a high fence that ran around the yard.

Amanda's goal was to make the girls comfortable. Truthfully, it had been an easier transition than Amanda had anticipated, but that was a very good thing. The girls had only lost their mother, her sister, two months ago.

Charlotte was a strong woman and had been diagnosed with cancer four years ago. She went into remission and had been until a year ago when it came back with a vengeance. After such a long battle, Charlotte passed away. Amanda's brother-in-law, Greg, was in Special Forces and had managed to delay his tour of duty until after the funeral, but was now going to be gone for 18 to 24 months and would only have limited contact with his family. Who did he trust with his girls: their only aunt.

Amanda couldn't tell him no. And so she didn't. Amanda spent her life's savings on a very expensive house in LA so the girls didn't have to change schools, but so they also didn't have to live everyday in the house where their mom passed away.

At only 28 years old, it was a little strange for her to go to parent teacher conferences for a high school student, but since she was trained as a spy for the CIA it didn't really bother her to go in and play the part.

She got a lot of weird looks from, well, everyone, but that didn't bother her either.

What bothered her was lying to her nieces. But it was for their own protection that they didn't know about her real job. And so they thought she was a nerdy secretary at a law firm. Little did they know she was tackling guys twice her size and then putting the heel of her boot through their feet until they gave her the information she was looking for.

It had been really hard losing her older sister, but she tried to put on a brave face for the girls. So far, there had only been a few minor spats between Amanda and the girls…well, Cameron. The other two little girls looked up to their aunt and her new role as pseudo-mother. Cameron was just angry at life. But who could blame her?

Amanda stopped home and put on something more business-like and made her way to her new building.

…

Tuck and FDR were informed shortly after arriving back at their hotel that they needed to be on a plane home to California as well. They took a red-eye back into LAX and grabbed a couple hours of shut eye before arriving back at their CIA headquarters.

They hadn't heard anything from Collins yet that morning. FDR was playing solitaire on his computer while Tuck typed away rapidly on his own. They had both arrived back from their respective homes in suits: Tuck in a dark one with a light blue dress shirt, FDR had worn a light grey suit with a black dress shirt.

Tuck's sleeves were already rolled up to his elbows as he rapidly did research.

"I've checked the database of bond enforcement agents and I've been through thousands of names. I can't find her," Tuck complained. "I guess it's possible that she isn't registered, but she was carrying a gun, so I…"

"Why do you care?" FDR said interrupting his friend.

"What do you mean _why do I care?"_ Tuck asked. "What made you look Lauren up?"

"She called me on my bullshit after talking to me for thirty seconds," FDR replied simply. "I just don't think…"

"Gentlemen!" Collins yelled over the railing upstairs. Both of the men looked up at their boss. "My office, right now," she said.

Both FDR and Tuck got up and made their way to their boss' office.

They continued to chat about the situation until they reached the threshold of the doorway and realized that there was someone else in Collins' office with her.

"Tuck, FDR, I'd like you to meet the newest member of our team, Agent Amanda Simons."

Amanda stood and turned around to face the men.

"This is the agent that brought in one of the heavy hitters last night," Collins said. "But I think you already know that," she half-smiled.

"You," Tuck managed to say.

"Amanda!" FDR said.

"Frank," she smiled warmly. "Thanks for pretending to not know me last night," Amanda said sincerely as FDR pulled her in for a hug. She didn't have an accent this time; she was clearly faking the voice last night.

Tuck looked back and forth at the two of them after they'd ended their hug.

FDR merely grinned back at his best friend as Tuck made angry faces at him when Amanda wasn't looking. His best friend had known who this woman was the whole time!

"You just moved out here?" FDR asked, ignoring Tuck's faces.

"Well, I didn't _just_ move out here," Amanda said. "I've been out here a few weeks sorting out my life and a couple other lives."

"I'm Agent Tuck Hansen," Tuck said, extending his hand.

Amanda shook his hand and smiled at him while looking him in the eyes. He was even sexier in the daylight. And from the way he was looking her over; he thought she was pretty damn good looking, too.

"Amanda will be a permanent member of our team. I trust the both of you will make her feel welcome," Collins said to them. "Was it good to get back into the field after a while off?"

Amanda nodded. "It was…good. I couldn't have done it without Agent Hansen. I probably would have had to chase him for blocks. But with the way life is right now, I'm definitely content to just sit back and handle the paperwork for a while."

FDR and Tuck both looked at her confusedly.

"You two can show Amanda to her new desk, it's currently being placed near your desks," Collins said. "She'll be an integral part of our team; I trust you will treat her that way."

Tuck smiled at the blush that had creeped across her cheeks. Amanda was now staring at her shoes; clearly she wasn't aware she was going to get this kind of recognition.

"We'll have your phone and laptop dock ready for Monday. Foster and Hansen can show you around."

"That sounds fine," Amanda said. "Thank you, ma'am."

The three agents exited the office and proceeded to make uncomfortable small talk during the tour of the CIA office.

"How do you all know each other?" Tuck asked after they had wound up at their work stations.

"It was that mission in Turkey," FDR said, grinning ear to ear and Tuck took that to mean that they'd been intimate.

"Yeah, you were trying to pick me up," Amanda smiled and laughed.

Tuck stared, he couldn't help it. She was pretty just standing there, but the smile made her beautiful. He mentally shook himself; he had to concentrate.

"You're one of the few women in the world that has said no to me," FDR said. "How does that feel?"

Tuck breathed a sigh of relief and both Amanda and FDR turned to look at him.

"Oh, man, you've got to come meet my wife. You can have dinner with us!" FDR said. "I'd have someone to talk to other than Trish and Bob," he said flatly.

"I, uh," she started. She looked down to her watch on her wrist. "I actually have to go pick up the girls from school. Maybe some other time?" she asked.

"Sure, of course," FDR replied.

"I'll see you both Monday. It was nice to meet you, Tuck," she said. "And thanks again for helping last night. I was able to get a little bit of information out of him before I flew back here."

"He's being flown here for trial," Tuck said, reading a message on his phone.

"If he mentions anything about the hole in his foot, I had _nothing_ to do with it," Amanda laughed. "See you later."

Amanda smiled at the both of them again and headed out of the building.

Tuck stared at his best friend after watching Amanda disappear for the second time in less than 24 hours.

"What?" FDR asked as he sat in his desk chair.

"You _know_ her and you didn't tell me!?" Tuck asked.

FDR smiled.

"You let me obsess over her all day and you know her?"

"I couldn't blow her cover last night, like she said. And how was I supposed to know she was going to show up here today?" he asked.

"Whatever," Tuck replied. But now he knew who she was. And he was bound and determined to figure her out.

A/N: okay, please review!


	3. Chapter 3

A New War

Chapter 3

Amanda's weekend was not nearly as relaxing s she needed it to be. She spent all day Saturday interviewing women for a nanny job. She trusted Cameron, but having a nanny around for Alex and Sophie would make her feel so much better.

The Agency, she learned, had a bunch of people already background-checked that they kept specifically for their employees. After five iffy interviews, the sixth woman finally impressed her.

The woman was in her early sixties and was a former CIA agent. Her name was Jeanne MacDonald and she reminded Amanda of her own mother.

"So, how long have you been retired?" Amanda asked. The two were enjoying some lemonade in the backyard.

"About ten years. My babies started having babies of their own and I realized I was just too old to keep working. That and my knees got to squeaky to be sneaky," she laughed. Amanda was immediately at ease with this woman. And Amanda had done her own check on this woman, too.

"So, how many children do you have?" Jeanne asked.

"Well, I have three girls. The oldest is fifteen, then twelve and the last one is five. And it's kind of a different story…"

"Lay it on me, dear," Jeanne said in response.

"I'm guardian to them; they're my nieces. My sister died of cancer a couple months ago," Amanda explained. "My brother-in-law had to leave to go on his tour of duty. We don't know where he is or when he'll be home. But it's going to be at least eighteen months."

The woman's sympathetic gaze deepened.

"Shoot. I was ready to take the job if offered before you told me that story. Now I really feel like I _have_ to help you out," she said.

"That's kind of you," Amanda replied. "It's been hard, but so far the girls have been really good. And I'm going to try to keep it a desk job for as long as possible, but…"

"I know. With the unknown nature of the job, you just want to make sure they're taken care of," Jeanne said, nodding sympathetically. "You moved your whole life out here to take care of your nieces? That's extremely admirable," Jeanne said.

"They needed me."

As if on cue, Sophie, Alex and Cameron came out to the backyard. It was the first interview they'd made an appearance during.

"These are the girls!" Jeanne gushed.

Jeanne stood and the girls looked her over. She was shorter than their aunt and stockier. She was probably beautiful when she was younger and had aged into a handsome older woman. She wasn't dressed like an old lady, either. She wore jeans and fancy running shoes. Her bright green top suited her complexion as well as her personality. She smiled brightly at all three girls.

"I'm Jeanne," she introduced herself to them.

Amanda moved to the girls. "This is Cameron, Alex and this little one hiding behind me is Sophie," Amanda said.

Jeanne bent down and looked at the littlest girl. "How old are you?"

Sophie giggled and held up her whole hand, but did not speak.

"Five? You're practically all grown up already!" Jeanne smiled.

Sophie took a tentative step from behind her aunt's leg.

"Who are you?" she asked bluntly.

Amanda looked shocked at the girl's forwardness, but Jeanne simply laughed.

"Well, Soph," Amanda said. "I'm hoping Jeanne will help take care of you girls."

Cameron immediately looked up from her text conversation.

"Excuse me? I don't need a baby-sitter," she said with a lot of attitude.

"Cameron, we talked about this. She's not a baby-sitter; she's…"

"A nanny," Jeanne piped up. "And I'll be around for your sisters more than anything," she said softly.

"Do you like to color?" Sophie asked.

"I _love_ to color," Jeanne smiled.

Sophie's eyes lit up. One down.

"Alexandra, you haven't said anything," Amanda said.

Alex looked to her older sister who then actively ignored her.

"Alex?" Amanda said again.

"Can't you just stay with us?" Alex asked in a quiet voice.

"Oh, honey. I'm not going anywhere. I just want to make sure there's always someone to pick you up from school and fix you dinner in case I work late," Amanda explained.

"Oh," Alex said.

"I promise," Amanda said. "And do I ever break my promises?"

Alex finally cracked a smile. "No," she answered.

"Why don't you guys go decide on pizza toppings? Cam, would you order it?" Amanda asked.

Cameron nodded and the three girls walked back into the house.

"They're all so beautiful," Jeanne replied.

"My sister was gorgeous," Amanda answered.

"You're no slouch yourself," Jeanne replied.

"Well, thank you. So, you still want to help us out?" Amanda asked.

"Of course!" Jeanne replied. "You need me to start Monday?"

Amanda nodded. "Is that okay?"

"Definitely," Jeanne answered.

Amanda and Jeanne worked out the details of the arrangement and then Jeanne left.

… … …

Monday morning came far too quickly in Amanda's opinion. She'd spent the weekend making sure the house's cameras were working properly. She trusted Jeanne, but the surveillance cameras the entrances and in the backyard made her feel better. She had the feed connected right to her phone and there was a TV she showed the girls to use to check the front door.

Amanda was uncharacteristically nervous as she walked into the entrance of the CIA building. She flashed her badge and was admitted by a friendly security guard. Maybe the warmer weather made people happier and friendlier?

Other agents were milling around the breakfast station, but Amanda headed straight to her desk. She shouldn't be nervous; she'd been doing this for years. But something about that Tuck guy that put an anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach. She barely knew him though. Why should he make her nervous?

Because he was incredibly good-looking, that's why.

She turned the corner to where the desks were set up and found the man in question was already seated at his own desk. FDR was not.

"Good morning," he said, rising from his seat in a gentlemanly fashion.

"Good morning," she replied. She felt a warm head flush through her cheeks. Was she blushing?

Amanda quickly looked down to her shoes. Her shoes wouldn't make her blush.

"How was your weekend?" he asked politely as he returned to his seat. "Getting the hang of California?"

Amanda nodded. "Yes. It helps that I've visited my sister out here before," she said softly.

Tuck had, embarrassingly enough, done his research. She had relocated to California to help care for her nieces. Those were the girls she'd been referring to.

He'd learned her whole life story. Born and raised in Michigan and graduated from Michigan State University. She joined the CIA when she graduated and had been there ever since.

"Do anything fun?"

"If you consider interviewing and hiring a nanny for my nieces as fun…" Amanda smiled politely. She pulled a couple framed photographs from her briefcase and put them out.

"How many nieces do you have?" Tuck asked.

Amanda hadn't sat down yet, so she carried the one photo over.

"Three," she smiled.

The photo was of their dad and the three girls.

"They're beautiful," Tuck replied. Amanda became more at ease as she spoke of them to Tuck. She noticed the framed photo on Tuck's desk.

"Who's this guy?" she asked.

"Uh, that's my son, Joe and my wife, um, _ex-wife_, Katie," he said.

"Good-looking family," she smiled at Tuck. The words had poured from her mouth before she could stop them. What was wrong with her?

Amanda clutched her photograph and quickly crossed back to her desk.

"So why were you the unlucky one left in charge of hiring the nanny?"

Amanda sucked in a breath. It was almost too early to tell this story to a stranger.

"I'll spare you the details, but my sister passed away and my brother-in-law is gone on business for the next god knows how long," she said. "So, it's either quit my job or find a nanny. I lucked out because the agency keeps a few in the rolodex. But some of these ladies are a little unhinged."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Tuck laughed. "They'd have to be if they want to be a nanny _after_ working for the CIA."

Amanda nodded.

"Were you close with your sister?"

"When we were younger, of course, but she moved to California when I was like twelve to get married to Greg. That was my brother-in-law in the picture with the girls."

Tuck had noticed that she kept the smile firmly planted on her face, but her eyes were shiny with unshed tears. However, she recovered quickly and moved to begin turning her computer on.

True to her word, Collins had Amanda's desk set up and ready for her. It wasn't like her old desk, where she had a corner to herself, but she would make due. Amanda continued to set up her desk as Tuck settled back into his work. FDR came in a few minutes later.

"Hey! You're here!" FDR smiled.

"That I am," Amanda replied.

He settled into his own desk.

"So you caught Alexander Vladimir. We were sent in to meet with an informant about him," FDR explained. "And some of the pieces that are being moved by the organization he works for. I just wonder why they didn't tell us they had you on the case, too."

"I think they were just hoping _someone_ would get him," Amanda said. "Hopefully the two of you will have better luck getting info out of him. He wasn't very forthcoming when I chatted with him. I tried asking nicely, but you know how that goes."

"Report says he had some small, sharp object impaled upon his foot," Tuck read. "Bled quite profusely, I understand."

"I might have accidentally stepped on his foot that night," she grinned. "Which was unfortunate because I was wearing my stilettos."

Tuck smiled at her. "I hate it when that happens," he laughed.

"But I'll just tell you both right now, I'm perfectly fine letting you guys take the lead on this one. I don't want to step on any one's toes, well, _anyone else's_ toes," Amanda told them.

"How could you want to sit here?!" FDR asked. "It's so boring!"

"Well, I have a bad habit of getting myself into some close calls with the bad guys we go after," Amanda replied. "And right now, I'm the only person that my nieces have. I can't get myself maimed or killed right now."

"So don't get yourself maimed or killed," FDR argued. "You don't _have_ to get injured."

"It seems like you're all getting along," Collins said, strolling in between their desks.

"I think so," Amanda said.

"Well, Vladimir has arrived and is in an interrogation room if you'd like to continue your conversation, Simons," Collins told her.

"I was thinking that maybe FDR and Tuck could take a crack at him. And he kind of hates me now," Amanda smiled.

"I am always pleased to find out when my agents aren't best friends with the people we have in custody," Collins replied. "Agent Hansen can go in with you. FDR, I want you to do a bit more research on the Las Vegas outfit that they have going."

FDR nodded. Collins was clearly in a bad mood, so he wasn't going to argue. And he decided to wait until later to ask if he could leave early.

Amanda stood from her desk as Collins walked away. She smoothed her skirt down, but she didn't put her suit jacket back on. Tuck also stood and began rolling up his shirt sleeves as they walked.

"I'm not going to lie, I can't wait to see you in there with him," Tuck said. He put his hand on the small of her back to guide her through the doorway into the block of holding cells. Amanda almost jumped out of her skin before immediately relaxing when she realized how natural it felt.

They arrived outside of the cell that Alexander Vladimir was being held in. There were guards and agents all around, ready to let both Tuck and Amanda inside.

"Are you ready?" Tuck asked and Amanda was temporarily distracted by his accent.

"Yes, let's do it," Amanda replied before blushing again. Tuck smiled at her and Amanda hurried over to the door.

She was let into the white tiled room and she was followed quickly by Tuck. The door slammed closed behind them.

"Good morning, Mr. Vladimir," Amanda said in Russian.

The man, who was bound to the chair that he was seat in, said nothing.

"Is that really how you treat a woman?" Tuck asked in Russian as well. "You could say _good morning."_

The man's head never moved; his eyes were fixated on his injured foot that was now bearing a bandage.

"Good morning," he grumbled in English.

"That is _much_ better," Tuck replied in English.

"You're wasting your time, agents," Vladimir said. "You can do what you want to me, but I will _never_ talk."

"Well, I hope we can persuade you otherwise," Amanda said. "I know you remember what happened when you didn't want to talk to me before."

The man slowly slid his uninjured foot back a couple inches.

"You _do_ remember," Amanda said as she smiled. "I do also hope that you'll believe that my friend here is much stronger than I am."

Amanda saw Tuck unconsciously flex his muscles.

"So, we want to know everything you know about your friends," Tuck said, getting in the man's face.

"I need a couple things from you before I'll even consider talking," Alexander said.

"And what are those things, Mr. Vladimir?" Tuck asked.

"I want to be placed in the Witness Protection Program if I talk to you," he started. "I would also like to be paid for my pain and suffering since it was caused by you."

"As far as anyone knows, you were brought in with that injury," Amanda said from the other side of the room. She was leaning on the table ledge as Tuck spoke with the man.

"And we'll talk Witness Protection when you're a little more forthcoming with information. Because we won't help you if you feed us bull shit," Tuck informed him.

"I want one more thing."

"What's that?" Amanda asked disinterestedly from her perch.

"I want…I want her on her knees in front of me," he said. "Sucking on my…"

It wasn't the first time a man in custody said things like that to her. But with Tuck in her way, she couldn't get him to punch him. However, she didn't need to.

Tuck had knocked the man so hard with a left hook to the jaw that the chair tipped backwards and the man's feet were straight in the air.

"I hope saying that was worth it, mate," Tuck said as he loomed over the man's face. "Consider that your warning to never say _anything_ like that to this woman ever again."

The man was still on his back.

"Now apologize to her."

"Tuck, that isn't…"

"I'm only sorry that I don't have her alone. Because the things I would do to…"

Tuck kicked the man in the ribs and kept him from finishing his statement.

"Let's leave him to think on it a bit," Amanda said putting a hand on Tuck's arm.

He turned and looked her in the eyes. The spark of something was there. Tuck nodded and the two of them walked back out of the door once it was opened for them.

"I'm really sorry that he…" Tuck started.

Amanda put a hand up. "I'm not worried about it. I've heard much worse."

"That is extremely unfortunate," Tuck replied. "I do hope you'll let me buy you lunch to make up for it."

"You already defended my honor back there," she smiled. "But lunch would be good." Amanda turned to an agent who was monitoring the cell. "You might want to have medical check him over. He might have a broken jaw."

"He should have a lot more than that," Tuck replied. "But…"

"But, its okay," Amanda finished.

"So, lunch?"

"If you insist," Amanda said.

"That I do," he smiled at her.

"Well, I just need to get my purse," Amanda said.

"I'll meet you at the front doors, then," Tuck smiled.

Amanda walked back to her desk. FDR was staring disinterestedly at his computer screen.

"How'd it go?" FDR asked.

"Better than it could have," she replied. She bent over her desk and FDR, out of habit, checked her out. She stood up and he quickly looked away. "I should probably get some ice for Tuck, though."

"He punched him, didn't he?" FDR smiled.

Amanda nodded.

"Got him good."

"That's Tuck for ya," FDR replied.

"We're going to get some lunch, would you like to join us?" Amanda asked.

At the same time she asked her question, FDR's phone buzzed with a text. It was from Tuck.

_If she asks you to come with us to lunch, politely decline_.

FDR smiled and put his phone down.

"I actually have a lot of work to finish for Collins," he lied. "You two have fun."

"Are you sure?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. But you Lauren really wants to meet you. Laurent's my wife, by the way," FDR said. "She wants to meet the only woman who turned me down."

"Would it make you feel better if I told you that the only reason I turned you down was because I had a boyfriend at the time?" she smiled.

"It makes me feel a little better. A couple of the other guys thought you were a lesbian," he replied.

Amanda laughed. "Well, there was that one time…" she trailed off.

FDR's thick eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"Just kidding," Amanda smiled and started to walk away. "Or am I?" she called back.

FDR leaned back in his chair and picked up his phone to type a response to Tuck.

_Don't screw this one up._

…

A/N: I just want to thank the folks that are reading this. I know it's a small ficdom, but I'm super pleased that I've had so many hits! I appreciate it!

Also, big shout out to James90 who has been my sole reviewer so far. Thanks a million.

And I promise that there will be more action coming up. I just needed a bit of time to set up the story!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: If there was a rating between T and M, that would be what this chapter is rated. (in my opinion, anyway…)

A New War

Chapter Four

"Line it up," Tuck whispered. "Okay, take the shot."

Amanda swung the golf club at the ball and it flew across the mini golf green towards a large clown's mouth.

Amanda came around and watched the ball completely miss the hole.

"Good try, though," Tuck smiled.

Amanda swung her club again and this time the ball went right into the plastic cup in the ground.

Currently, Tuck and Amanda were undercover. In broad daylight. Playing mini golf. The two of them were out on a "date" following Vladimir's business partner and his extremely young girlfriend out on their own actual date.

So far, Danton Yencich hadn't taken his eyes away from the redhead he was with. He hadn't even taken a phone call. So far, it was just a regular, albeit boring, date.

Yencich wasn't the head of the operation, but was probably, as Tuck Amanda estimated, third in command. He was about 35 years old with wispy blond hair that was thinning in the front. He wasn't very tall, but he was pretty solid. He was also really tan, which looked really odd on this particular man.

He was the next clue they needed. Yencich would be able to lead them to a man that only went by Leonid.

Tuck and Amanda were in their own little world when the sound of a shrill giggle wafted towards them. Yencich had picked the girl up and thrown her over his shoulder to take her to their next hole. Amanda did what she could to ignore her shudder of distaste.

"If she makes that sound one more time, I'm going to have to shoot her," Amanda said through gritted teeth as she and Tuck walked to their own next hole.

"Now, now, darling," Tuck smiled. "That is not very nice."

"Her laugh sounds like nails on a chalkboard," Amanda replied.

Aside from the fact that they were following a jewel smuggler and possible hired assassin around, she was enjoying her time with Tuck. It had been a couple weeks already and Collins was sending them out to work recon. Since today they were out doing "couple" things, it was hard for her to not pretend they weren't an actual couple.

FDR was not excited that he was left out of the fieldwork, but he managed to get Collins to compromise and let him work in the van. Truthfully, he didn't mind it. FDR was enjoying his time listening to the audio of his best friend flirting with Amanda and vice versa. He was wondering when they were just going to realize how good they were together and finally do something about it.

By all accounts, Amanda was already part of the family. Lauren had met them all for lunch a couple weeks back and the two had become fast friends. The ladies were happily swapping FDR stories, some that even Tuck hadn't heard, within the hour. Now Amanda had plans for girls' nights with Lauren and Trish every week or so.

FDR turned his full attention back to the audio feed from the mic Tuck was wearing.

Apparently Amanda had managed to splash her golf ball into the water hazard ad Tuck's laugh filled FDR's ears.

"So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that golf's not your sport?" Tuck laughed.

Amanda slapped Tuck lightly in the upper arm in a playful way.

"My real skill lies in checkers," Amanda laughed. "Don't challenge me."

"Noted," Tuck replied. "Are you going to go get your ball?" he asked.

"Oh, you can go get it for me, honey," Amanda smiled.

Tuck shook his head. "I don't think so," Tuck laughed. "I'm pretty sure the person who loses the thing has to go in after it."

"Is that an official rule? Could you find that written down somewhere?" Amanda asked as she looked at him in the eye.

Tuck smirked but didn't say anything.

Amanda sighed audibly. "All right, all right."

She bent down to slip her shoes off and Tuck couldn't help but appreciate her rear end.

"What makes this water blue?" Amanda asked. "It isn't poisonous, is it?" she asked seriously.

"I think it's something to keep algae from growing in it," Tuck replied.

He held his arm out as Amanda carefully stepped into the blue pond.

"This is truly disgusting," she said as she made a sour face. Her foot sunk into the bottom of the muck up to her ankle.

"Oh, gross," she laughed. She couldn't help but laugh despite how much she hated what was happening.

"I can't tell if you're really disgusted or if you…"

"Oh, I promise that I'm really grossed out. It's squishy, Tuck!" she replied. "Ewww!"

She reached for the golf ball and came back to the edge of the pond.

Yencich and his girlfriend came up to the hole.

"Play through, mate. My wife's gone for a swim," Tuck laughed.

"You sure?" he asked, downplaying his accent. "Because we can…"

"No, no," Amanda said as Tuck helped her back up. "Go ahead. I have a feeling this is going to take me a while. I wouldn't want to hold you both up."

"Are those your shoes?" the redhead asked dumbly. Her voice was high-pitched and almost as grating as her laugh.

Amanda fixed the smile on her face.

"Yes; great aren't they?"

"They're adorable! Where'd you get them?"

"On our honeymoon in Paris. I saw them and he just insisted that I have them," Amanda told her. "They're amazing."

"I think they're amazing for a totally different reason," Tuck said. "One day, I came back to the room, they were the only thing she had on."

Amanda appeared to sputter for a moment before continuing. She put her hand on Tuck's chest and a tingle of excitement ran through him.

"You promised me that you weren't going to tell anyone that story," Amanda smiled.

"I just like that story too much not to," Tuck smiled. "However, the mental image is better."

FDR was cracking up on his end of the conversation and Yencich was now surveying the woman in the fancy high heels and shorts playing mini golf. He appeared to approve of her long legs.

"How long have you been married?" the redheaded woman asked.

Tuck looked to Amanda to answer; they were too professional to try to answer at the same time.

"Four years, but our anniversary is next month," Amanda replied. "He's great, right?"

"You are so great together! And your accent is hot," she said to Tuck.

"Are you two married?" Amanda asked trying to change the subject.

"Oh, no. Not yet, at least," the redhead replied. "I've been hoping though," she finished.

Yencich looked uncomfortable next to her.

"Honey, we should finish up here if we're going to make our reservations at LaCirque."

"Bothwick," FDR said into his phone. "Get Tuck and Amanda reservations at LaCirque."

"I'm not dressed for LaCirque," Amanda whispered into Tuck's mic as she hugged him.

"It doesn't matter, MandyAnn," FDR replied in her ear. "You're going."

"What an odd coincidence; we have reservations at LaCirque, as well," Tuck smiled.

FDR almost fell out of his chair in the van. "What are you doing?" he yelled into their ear pieces.

Tuck still had his arms around Amanda, but he spoke to FDR.

"Calm down, mate," Tuck said. "This woman won't let him change the reservations."

"How can you be so sure?" Amanda asked.

Tuck looked down into her eyes. "Because I am."

Amanda still wasn't sure, but Tuck seemed so confident, so she couldn't help but believe him.

… … …

An hour later, Tuck and Amanda were being seated at LaCirque and both of them were focused on the areas behind one another. They were surveying the crowd, trying to find Yencich and his annoying girlfriend.

So far, Amanda didn't see either one of them.

"They'll be here," Tuck said as if reading her mind.

"I'm just going to enjoy dinner at a terribly expensive restaurant on the agency's dime," Amanda laughed.

"I want a steak," FDR said into their ears. "Medium well."

The waiter came up to the table and Tuck smiled at him.

"Can I start the both of you off with a drink?" he asked.

"I'll have water and the lady will have a white wine," Tuck said.

"No, no," Amanda said. "I'll just have water, too."

"Honey, you should have some wine," Tuck told her. "I insist."

Amanda didn't say anything, she simply looked at Tuck.

"White wine, for the lady."

"All right, I'll be right back," the waiter said before walking away from the table.

"Did you hear me? I want a steak. And maybe a baked potato," FDR said into their earpieces.

They both continued to ignore him.

"I still don't see them. That bright red hair on that woman is pretty hard to miss," Amanda said.

The waiter came back with their respective drinks and took their orders.

Amanda was seated to face the entrance of the restaurant and took her position seriously. While she wanted to focus on Tuck's eyes, she needed to see when the couple walked into the building.

After ten minutes, Amanda had taken a bite of her salad and stopped with her fork in the air. A shrill laugh had cut through the sounds of the people in the room and it could only belong to one person.

"We've got Yencich and the girl, eleven o'clock," Amanda told Tuck and FDR.

Amanda watched as the couple was seated in the back corner in the restaurant in a semi-private area. Amanda could see them, but not well. And they certainly couldn't hear anything.

"I think that this wasn't one of our better ideas," Amanda said.

Tuck smiled. "At least we'll have a good meal out of this," he said. "And good company."

"Good one," FDR said into their ears.

Amanda laughed and blushed, while Tuck turned his own shade of red. Tuck turned off his mic a second later. Now they would be able to enjoy their dinner.

The waiter had just brought them the cart of desserts when Amanda's cell phone rang and Tuck's eyes went wide and focused on something past Amanda's head. She was too focused on her phone to notice Tuck's reaction.

"I have to take this," Amanda said. She knew the polite thing would be to leave the table, but she didn't. She was going to try and make it as quick as possible.

"Hey, Cam," Amanda said into her phone quietly. She waited for the girl to respond. "What's it rated?" she asked. She waited for an answer. "Who are you going with and how are you getting there?" Amanda waited again.

Amanda watched Tuck rise in his seat and she furrowed her brows in response. She watched him greet someone in her peripheral vision.

"His name is Nate?" Amanda said into the phone. "No boys. The answer is no," she said into her phone. "Honey, you haven't seen the worst. We'll talk more when I get home."

Amanda put her phone down and looked at Tuck, who was still standing and chatting with a man and a woman. Amanda stood and got ready to introduce herself. However, before she could speak, Tuck pulled her to his side and planted a kiss to her temple.

"Amanda, this is my ex-wife, Katie," Tuck said, eyeing their mark from across the restaurant. They were too far away to be able to hear what was said at their table, so Tuck knew he could speak freely. Amanda recovered quickly from the shock of his display of affection and extended her hand to the petite brunette who was partially wrapped around a guy who was probably Amanda's height. "And this is her…_boyfriend_…Travis," Tuck explained in a partially strained voice.

Katie looked at them expectantly so she could be introduced to the woman who was attached to her ex-husband.

"I'm Amanda," Amanda replied, not letting Tuck say anything. "I'm his girlfriend. It's nice to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Katie said flatly.

Travis might not have been very tall, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in attractiveness. The man was extremely good looking. He had a full head of dark, wavy hair and a tan that suited him. His eyes were a chocolately brown color. Both he and Katie were dressed up, and were much more suited for the restaurant than Amanda and Tuck were. Amanda kept looking at Travis, though. She was certain she knew him from somewhere.

Travis extended his hand towards Amanda and she shook his hand as well. He had a terrible handshake. His palms were sweaty and his wrist was pretty limp; it was like holding onto a dead fish. When they finished their greeting, Amanda subtly wiped her hand on her red cotton shorts.

When she looked up, that's when she realized that Katie was doing to her what she'd been doing to Travis. Katie's eyes were surveying the body language between her and Tuck and then her head shifted towards Amanda's bare legs and the tall high heels she was wearing. Her eyes were narrowed and she was obviously jealous of Amanda. Tuck's grip tightened on Amanda's waist and she leaned into him more. Clearly, Tuck hadn't known that Katie had a boyfriend.

"Where's Joe tonight?" Tuck asked.

Katie frowned. "Not that you care, but he's with my mother."

"Of course I care," Tuck replied.

Katie was still frowning. "Oh, I hadn't noticed."

"Katie, tonight's not the night," Travis said as he smiled at Tuck and Amanda. "It was nice to meet you, but we'll let you get back to your meal."

Tuck said nothing, simply stared down his ex-wife.

"It was nice to meet you both, too," Amanda said.

Travis ushered Katie away and Amanda sat down in her own chair and waited for Tuck to do the same.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Did you find that as awkward as I did?" Amanda asked finally. Tuck cracked a smile a minute later.

"I'm sorry," Tuck said. "That was…"

Amanda smiled in response. "It's not a big deal. I take it you didn't know she was seeing someone?" she asked.

Tuck shook his head.

"Would you like some of my wine?" she asked, pushing her glass towards him. "And not to keep talking about it, but I feel like I know that guy."

Tuck raised his eyebrow at her. "From where?"

"I don't know," Amanda said. "I can't place him. But he looks so familiar."

Across the restaurant, from the direction that Katie and Travis had been seated, came a shriek.

"Of course I'm saying yes!" a voice, that Tuck instantly recognized as Katie's, yelled.

The restaurant was applauding before Tuck even processed what had just happened. Amanda saw the look on his face and knew it was time to leave.

"Let's get out of here," she told him. Their recon on Yencich was a bust, they might as well go.

She saw the look of concern on his face and told herself that it wasn't smart to be jealous of this other woman. Katie would always be the mother of his son and Tuck was hurt because Katie had failed to mention any of this to him.

"Yeah, let's go," he mumbled. He threw several hundred dollar bills on the dining table from his wallet and then took Amanda by the arm. His hand moved to the small of her back again to direct her out of the restaurant and for a minute it all felt incredibly real to her.

The sun had completely set by the time they'd left the restaurant and the air had become about ten degrees cooler than it had been. The night air hit Amanda's bare legs and instantly she was covered in goose bumps. She silently chided herself for not thinking ahead and wearing something a little more covered up. She didn't want to shiver in front of him, but she couldn't help it.

"C'mon, we'll get in the car and I'll take you home," Tuck said, noticing the bumps on her body.

She waved him off. "Let's go get a drink."

"I should call FDR," Tuck said. "Let him know he can go home."

"Just text him," Amanda said softly as she put her hand on his arm.

"All right," Tuck said.

…

Three hours later, Tuck was walking Amanda up the path to her front door. Both had a lot to drink and there was danger of Amanda breaking an ankle in her sky-high heels.

"Shh," Amanda said, putting her finger over his lips to quiet him. They were both laughing like children and they couldn't seem to stop. "We'll wake up the girls."

They had talked about everything during their time at the bar. His relationship with Katie and her last boyfriend mishap. They'd even gotten on the topic of raising children. There had been some harmless flirting and touching at the bar, but once they'd gotten into the backseat of their ride for the night, that's when it all really started.

They were sitting right next to each other and Tuck was tracing lines on the inside of her thigh, right above her kneecap and Amanda had unbuttoned Tuck's shirt just enough to make out the tattoo on his upper chest. She used her own fingers to trace the letters.

Amanda was remembering all of that when fumbled with her keys and dropped them on the doorstep. She laughed again and bent down to grab them. When she'd straightened up, Tuck was looking right into her eyes. He braced his hands on either side of her head on the door frame.

Amanda's hand went to the back of his neck and instantaneously they were kissing. Tuck was pressed against her and she was sandwiched between him and the door. The agency car that had brought them home laughed and shook his head before driving the SUV away.

In her inebriated state, Amanda forgot about the security camera that would be watching them and she had somehow managed to turn on the mic that Tuck was still wearing.

"Your ride just left," she breathed hard. His left hand slid down her side and stopped at her hip.

"Let's go inside," he said into her ear.

He had somehow managed to get the door unlocked and it opened into the expanse of the house.

It was a terrible idea to bring Tuck into the house with the girls, and Jeanne, asleep in their rooms. And had Amanda been in her right mind, she would have realized that. Instead, she was acting like a rebellious teenager and quietly shut and locked the door behind Tuck before turning off the porch lights.

Soundlessly, she led him through the house and to her bedroom, locking that door behind them as well.

To Be Continued…

…

A/N: so what did you think? Let me know!


	5. Chapter 5

A New War

Chapter 5

A soft knocking on the door woke Tuck from his pleasant slumber. Before he opened his eyes, he felt a hand on his chest and a warm body pressed against his.

The knocking didn't stop and he finally opened his eyes. He was shirtless and shoe-less, but still dressed otherwise. The body lying next to him was Amanda. Her blouse was un-tucked and unbuttoned, revealing her lacy bra, and her high heel shoes were kicked off somewhere, but she was still otherwise dressed, too.

The knocking grew more impatient, but Amanda didn't stir. They had a lot to drink last night.

Tuck looked at her sleeping and almost didn't want to wake her up. But a voice was calling on the other side of the door now.

"Mandy!" a small voice called.

"Hey," Tuck whispered in her ear. "You're wanted outside of this room."

Amanda's blue eyes flashed open instantly at the sound of Tuck's voice in her ear combined with his warm breath on her neck. The hand she had on his chest drew back immediately and there was now a foot of bed between them.

"What?" she asked as she held her head in her hands. Amanda had promised herself that she wasn't going to drink enough to get a hangover ever again, and somehow, she'd broken her rule.

Her eyes washed over Tuck, who was still only half dressed and lying on the bed not far from her. She was fairly certain, after inspecting their clothing situation that they had only slept together. Tuck's body was as amazing as she thought it would be and she had a vague recollection of helping him take his shirt off. She suspected that her shirt was open because of Tuck's handiwork.

"Mandy!" the voice on the other side of the door yelled again. "Are you dead?" she called.

"No, Soph," Amanda called. "I'm not dead."

"Is that guy still here?" Sophie asked.

Amanda's eyes went wide in disbelief over what her niece had just said.

"Uh…"

"You'd better come to the kitchen. Cammy is watching the TV with you on it," Sophie said.

"Holy shit," Amanda whispered hoarsely. "The security camera."

"What security camera?" Tuck asked.

Amanda ducked her head and stared at her lap. "The one at the front door."

Suddenly the memories of their make-out session at the front door only a few hours ago flooded back into both of their minds.

"I'll be right out!" Amanda called.

"Do you have a plan?" Tuck asked as he stood from the bed. He needed to find his shirt; it couldn't have gotten too far.

"Well, I'm not going to ask you to go out the window, if that's what you're asking," she smirked as she buttoned her blouse back up.

"Everything aside, Amanda, I had a good time last night," Tuck said.

"You were drunk; you don't remember anything," Amanda pointed out. She walked to her closet and pulled out a pair of grey yoga pants. She started to unbutton her shorts and got incredibly self-conscious standing in front of Tuck. He simply smiled at her before turning and facing the opposite wall.

"How do you know I don't remember anything?" he asked. "You were pretty hammered yourself, ma'am."

Amanda groaned in disgust. "Don't call me _ma'am_. And I know _you_ don't remember anything because _I_ don't remember much."

Tuck ran a hand through his hair and then noticed something on the floor. The mic he'd clipped to himself had come undone from his shirt. He picked it up and inspected it. It had switched itself on, but it probably did that when it fell off. He clicked it off and stuck it in his pocket.

"Is it okay if I use your bathroom?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied. "Its right there," she pointed to the en suite bathroom.

He started to walk towards the bathroom, but he stopped right in front of her. He put his hands on her hips and looked straight into her eyes.

"I really did have a lovely time last night," Tuck said. "Really. And not just the stuff at the end of the night. The getting to know you part," he explained.

He kissed her chastely on the lips before walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind himself. Amanda's toes curled despite the innocent kiss. It was clear: she'd fallen hard for Tuck. But what was she going to do now?

"I'm going to go talk to the girls," Amanda called through the door.

She didn't wait for a response; she hurried out of the bedroom.

Amanda made the short trip down to the kitchen and there were four expectant faces waiting for her and the security TV was paused on the frame when Tuck and Amanda were making out.

"Who is he?" Alex asked.

"How long have you known him?" Sophie asked. "And when you get married, can I be in the wedding?"

"Did you _sleep_ with him last night?" Cam asked disapprovingly.

"He's a work colleague and a friend, Alex. And, if and when I get married, which isn't happening anytime soon, of course, you can be in the wedding," Amanda answered.

"I'm going to have a purples dress. Is that okay?" Sophie asked.

Amanda nodded and smiled at her youngest niece. There just wasn't a filter there yet and it was still precious on a small child.

"You didn't answer my question," Cam pointed out. She was too smart and too observant for her age.

"No, I didn't. Because you don't need an answer."

"You _not_ answering is actually an answer," Cam replied.

"Young lady…"

"What?" she spat back. "You can have a guy in your room all night, but I can't even go to the movies, in public, with a boy?"

Tuck had unfortunately chosen that particular moment to walk into the room.

"Um, hi," he said sheepishly as all eyes turned to him. He flashed all the girls his brilliant smile and Cam's angry face changed; her jaw dropped slightly.

"Good for you, honey," Jeanne smirked.

"I'm Jeanne. I'm the girls' nanny. And I should be getting home."

Jeanne didn't wait for him to introduce himself, she headed for the door.

"Thank you for staying over, Jeanne. I really appreciate it," Amanda said.

Jeanne smiled. "Anytime, dear. You know that."

"Oh, by the way: this is Tuck," Amanda said to introduce them.

Jeanne shook his extended hand and smiled at him. "Don't let these girls scare ya. She's worth it."

Amanda looked horrified for a minute while Jeanne spoke to Tuck.

Jeanne let herself out and Tuck turned his attention back to the pajama-clad bunch of girls. The oldest was trying to smooth down her hair and the youngest regarded him like he was an alien. Clearly Amanda hadn't brought anyone home before. Tuck kind of liked that bit.

Tuck turned to the youngest girl and crouched down. "You must be Sophie."

Sophie nodded enthusiastically. She was thrilled that someone already knew who she was.

"Are you going to ask Mandy to marry you?" she asked.

Amanda looked horrified again and Tuck chuckled.

"Not today, I don't think, but I'll make sure I check with you before I do. Is that okay?"

Sophie nodded again. "Sound good."

"I'm Tuck," he said, as he held out his hand to her.

"Tuck's a funny name," Sophie said as she shook his hand.

"My real name is John, but everyone calls me Tuck," he replied.

"Oh," Sophie said, wide-eyed.

He then stood to full height to look at Alex. "You would be Alexandra," he said. Amanda looked at her two older nieces and was fairly certain they both swooned at his accent.

Shy as ever, though, Alex only nodded at him in response.

"That makes you, Cameron," he said, turning to the oldest. "Don't be too angry with your aunt; it was a last minute situation. And she was kind enough to offer me a place to stay when I needed it. We thought it was best if I stayed somewhere where I wouldn't scare any of you ladies," he explained.

Cameron simply nodded this time, too. Her whole argument with her aunt was over. She was transfixed on Tuck.

"If you girls go get dressed, I'll take everyone out to breakfast," Amanda told them.

"Pete's Pancakes?" Sophie asked.

"Uh, duh?" Amanda said, smiling.

All three girls took off for their rooms.

"Thank you," Amanda said as they leaned on the kitchen counter.

"Gotta love kids," Tuck replied.

"Sophie has zero filter," Amanda said. "And she'll ask any question that pops into her little head. Her dad is kind of like that. And Cameron, well, she's just like her mother. She even has my sister's disapproving stare down pat."

There was a little of an awkward silence between the two of them. Amanda hurried up and spoke.

"So, if you want to, you can come to breakfast with us. But I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to," Amanda said. "But you _are_ invited."

"You are not selling this well," Tuck replied. "But I'm still game."

"Good decision. Pete's Pancakes has the best buttermilk pancakes in the _entire_ world. Have you ever been there?"

Tuck shook his head. "Nope, but I love pancakes. The _entire world_, you say?"

"I've done extensive research in the field of pancakes, Mr. Hansen," Amanda laughed. "And you're in for a treat."

…

At the restaurant, the five of them sat down for their meals.

"So, how did you meet Aunt Mandy?" Cameron asked. Amanda shot her a dirty look, but Cameron was unaffected by her aunt's stare.

Tuck finished chewing his pancakes and swallowed before wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"I met your aunt through my work," Tuck explained.

"Tuck is a travel agent," Amanda chimed in. "He's using the law firm for contracts; you know, work stuff."

"A travel agent?" Cameron asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Yes," Tuck replied.

"That sounds almost as bad as Mandy's job," Cameron announced.

"Cameron!" Amanda scolded her. "It's one thing to mock me, but to talk to Tuck like that, a stranger to you, it's just plain rude…"

"Its fine, Amanda," Tuck said. "She's just expressing her opinion."

"Thank you," Cameron replied in a satisfied voice. Someone finally took her side in an argument.

Amanda rolled her eyes in response, but was choosing her battles a little more wisely.

"Is there anything interesting about being a travel agent?" Cameron asked.

"Ah, well, I do actually travel," Tuck replied.

"I'm confused, so maybe you can clear this up," Cameron began and Amanda braced herself for the coming statement. "You've never said anything about having friends, and you never said anything about having a boyfriend. So, what is he to you?"

"What?" Amanda asked before staring open-mouthed at her niece.

All three girls stared at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"I'm hoping she'll agree to date me, but I'm not so sure she'll say yes," Tuck said. "Hopefully you'll all agree to help me convince her otherwise."

The humor was lost on the girls, but Amanda smirked down into her plate of pancakes.

After breakfast, Amanda dropped Tuck back off at his apartment. He decided not to make it awkward and he climbed out of the mini-van without saying much. He smiled in her direction and she gave a half-wave before pulling the car away.

… …

The rest of the weekend passed and it was too busy for Tuck and Amanda to keep in contact. Monday morning, Tuck rolled in to the CIA field office bright and early and made his way to his desk.

FDR was already waiting for him.

"You're in early, mate," Tuck said, smiling as he removed his suit jacket.

FDR smiled slyly. "Well, Bothwick called me after he came in. He was reviewing some of the audio files from the recon that you and Amanda were working on."

"Oh?" Tuck replied. "Something in the background? Why didn't he call me?"

"Is there something you want to tell me? Maybe about what you all did after the restaurant?" FDR prodded.

Tuck smoothed his tie out and sat down in his desk chair. "We went to the bar for a drink. You know that, but we turned off the mic."

"How about after the bar?"

Tuck shook his head then realization suddenly flooded over him.

"Listen, Franklin…" Tuck began.

FDR was laughing too hard and held his hands up.

"No, no, good for you, man," he said. "Seriously, Amanda is a very beautiful woman and she's good for you. And it sounds like it was a good time."

"It didn't go as far as you thought it did," Tuck said. "How many people have heard the audio? I want to keep this as quiet as possible."

"That isn't how you felt Saturday night," FDR replied.

Tuck gave him a look, but didn't say anything.

"I made sure Bothwick and I were the only ones who would hear it," FDR said, smiling. "Did you have a good time?"

Tuck wasn't going to dignify the question with an answer, but he nodded. "But nothing happened. We fell asleep…I think," Tuck said, smiling. "You're sure you and Bothwick were the only ones to hear the audio?"

FDR nodded.

"Tuck, as soon as Agent Simons arrives I want to see you both in my office," Collins called unexpectedly from the railing above them.

Tuck's smile immediately faded.

"Uh-oh," FDR said. "You got called to the principal's office."

"Thanks, mate," Tuck replied.

How was he going to tell Amanda about this?

…

Please review. Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

A New War

Six

Amanda and Tuck were equal shades of red when they were finally released from Collins' office. Her eyes were on the floor as she exited and she rushed away as quickly as she could from the entire situation. Tuck had been about to say something to her, an apology, but she was gone and out of sight.

Tuck walked silently back to his desk and he looked at FDR helplessly.

"Where is Amanda?" FDR asked.

"Well, I had hoped she had come back here," Tuck answered as he sat down in his chair.

"Should I ask how the meeting went?" his best friend smirked.

"Well, it could have gone a lot worse," Tuck told him.

"That's all I get?"

"Collins doesn't want this to affect our work, like another event affected you and I previously," Tuck explained.

"Oh," FDR replied.

"I would feel better if I knew where Amanda had gone. I didn't think it was so bad. Just a tad embarrassing," Tuck said.

"Sounds like you had a good time," FDR said. "How much did you have to drink? Whiskey again?"

"Worse. Tequila."

"You got a girl to drink tequila with you on the first date?" FDR asked.

"Shit, she drank me under the table. That woman can hold her liquor," Tuck smiled. "And she felt bad for me."

"Sounds like a perfect combination: lots of alcohol and pity," FDR laughed. "Why was she feeling sorry for you?"

"How could you have already forgotten?" Tuck asked.

"Oh, yeah. Katie and _that guy_," FDR said in a conspiratorial tone.

"They got engaged, Franklin," Tuck said seriously. "I didn't even know she was seeing anyone."

"So?"

"_So?_ That's all you have to say?" Tuck asked. "It wasn't working between you and her. It _is_ working with Amanda. So, buy them a shit wedding gift, like a salad spinner…"

"We had one. She got it in the divorce," Tuck grumbled.

"Okay, remote control caddy. Something as equally as useless as a salad spinner. Then you can wish them well and flaunt Amanda at the wedding. All eyes will be on my child and wife and your date."

"What other nonsense do you feel like spouting?" Tuck asked.

"I say, tell Amanda that you want her despite whatever specifics Collins mentioned in the meeting. _You like her_. Don't screw this up. And don't let this Katie thing get in your head more than it already has."

A moment later, Amanda came strolling through the space between the desks. Tuck took another minute to admire her figure clad in a bright blue knee-length pencil skirt and black cowl neck sweater. It was a welcome change to the drab suits that most wore in the office. His eyesight continued up her body and he realized that she was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"You look more a lot happier than you did a few minutes ago," Tuck said.

Amanda raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I feel happier than I did a few minutes ago."

Amanda smoothed out her skirt as she sat in her very own desk chair and FDR noticed her bloody knuckles.

"What's wrong with your hand?" he asked.

Amanda looked down at her left hand then back up to the men on either side of her.

"I took care of an issue for the agency," Amanda said.

A moment later, an agent, one fairly new to the west coast agency was being lead down to corridor in handcuffs. She was dressed in one of the drab suits that Tuck had been thinking of earlier. She had the beginnings of a black eye forming and she had blood on her face and on her white button up.

"Isn't that Nancy Wallace?" FDR asked, standing from his chair.

Tuck also stood and smoothed his tie down the front of him reflexively.

"Yes," Amanda said, not standing up.

"What happened?" Tuck asked.

"She got her ass kicked, man," FDR laughed.

"I did it for you, Tuck!" the woman in cuffs called down the corridor to them.

Tuck's brow furrowed in confusion and FDR erupted into laughter as he sat back down.

"Only you, dude. Only you," FDR continued to laugh.

"Would you care to explain this to me?" Tuck turned to Amanda.

Amanda was busy filling out an incident report detailing the situation that had just occurred. She said nothing.

She still did not look up when Boyles dashed in and stopped in the middle of their grouping of desks.

"What?" Tuck asked. He was still confused as to what was going on.

"Did you tell them what happened?" Boyles asked happened.

She looked up from her paperwork and fixed him with an evil look.

"Someone needs to tell me," Tuck said. "Come on; out with it."

"She sucker-punched Wallace," Boyles said. "Harder than I've ever seen a woman hit something."

"Why?" Tuck asked her. "What was Wallace saying about me?"

"She's the reason that the audio from Saturday night was leaked to the entire Agency," Amanda said. "Apparently, Wallace was, _is_, obsessed with you and she didn't like what happened," Amanda explained.

"Oh," tuck said. "Um…"

"That's ridiculous!" FDR said. "She got into a fist fight for you."

"From all accounts, it wasn't much of a fight," Boyles said. "It was more like she Hulked-out and smashed."

Amanda cocked an eyebrow up, but said nothing.

"Manda Smash?" FDR laughed.

"You know that part in the Avengers movie when the Hulk picks up Loki and tosses him around like a ragdoll?" Boyles asked.

Both Tuck and FDR asked.

"I might have some slight anger management issues," Amanda told them.

"Well, as long as you didn't go Bane on her and break her back," FDR said.

"Nah, she was still walking. Besides, just because she's a tech-wiz doesn't mean she's Batman," Amanda said.

"Not everyone can be Batman," Tuck replied, agreeing with her.

"Sometimes it's more fun to be the villain anyway, right?" she asked.

"I don't think you were much of a villain. You were defending my honor," Tuck said.

"I'm sure I'll get some kind of demerit, citation, something, for breaking a co-worker's nose, but all in a day's work, I suppose," Amanda said.

Bothwick came up to their desks next and stopped next to Amanda.

"Collins wants you in her office, again," he smiled.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Called to the principal's office twice in one morning. Well, it was nice knowing all of you," she said.

"Hey, maybe there's a medal involved," FDR called after her.

…

Amanda sat down in the chair opposite Collins for the second time since she'd gotten to work that morning.

"Did you go around hitting your co-workers at the office in DC, too?" Collins asked without any amusement in her voice.

"Not regularly," Amanda replied, equally as emotionless. "I'm sorry. I lost control for a moment. And she, well, was bat-shit crazy."

"I know," Collins replied. "IT just took her computer files apart. She's been virtually stalking Agent Hansen for about four years. I don't usually thank my agents for putting others in hospitals or handcuffs, but you did good this time," Collins explained.

Amanda's jaw must have fallen open, because Collins continued.

"What, did you think I was going to fire your ass?" she asked.

Amanda nodded. "To be perfectly honest, yes. Yes, I did."

"I probably should, but I'm not going to. At least, not today."

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. Oh my god, thank you," she said. "I'd hug you, but I figure that might get me fired for real."

Collins finally smiled. "It might. Okay, now get out of my office. And don't hit anyone else under my employment today. Also, if you suspect anyone else is crazy, can you just talk to me first? Then swing?"

Amanda stood and nodded at her boss.

"Sure thing," Amanda said. "Thank you again," she said before hurriedly exiting the woman's office.

…

Elsewhere…

"That's going to be a long, drawn-out process," the man said. "Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Are you really questioning my plans?" the other man asked.

"Mr. Leonid, of course not," Yencich replied back. "I'm just concerned…"

"I don't like the word _concerned_. It means you don't trust me. And I don't like that fact even more."

Yencich shook his head and held up his hands.

"Of course I trust you! I owe you my life," Yencich replied. "You know that."

"Then you should show your faith in me," Leonid said. "And Travis Stemworth will be marrying Katie. And Katie's ex-husband is a CIA agent. One of the CIA agents that killed Heinrich."

Yencich nodded. Yes, he knew that. "We spoke to him and his lady friend this past weekend, sir," Yencich told him.

"As did I," Leonid said in an annoyed voice.

"We can infiltrate the family and take them out, one by one. The woman is also an agent; after doing a little research, turns out she's the one who brought in Vladimir."

"I want to take down the agents that took down my friend," Leonid said. "The organization hasn't been the same since Heinrich died. Hansen and Foster are going to pay for it. And so are all the people close to them," he finished.

Leonid started to hang pictures on the corkboard next to him.

"These are obviously Hansen and Foster," he said, pointing. "This is the woman, Amanda Simons. Foster's wife," he said as he hung up a picture of Lauren Foster. "She's pregnant with their first child. Simons has custody of her three nieces." He hung up a picture of Amanda with the three girls. "This is Katie and her son with Hansen."

"We're taking everyone out? Even the children?" Yencich asked.

"We'll see," Leonid said coldly. "I need you to find me someone to be my best man. Since I'm pretending to be American, get me an actual American or someone who can act as well as I can," he finished.

"I can't do it, sir?" he asked. "It would be easier if we didn't have to train someone else."

He shook his head. "No, they know you. They're watching you," Leonid explained. "You'll have to remain unseen from now on."

Leonid removed the gun from his suit jacket and aimed at Yencich.

"No, no; please don't," Yencich begged.

Leonid squeezed the trigger and the bullet hit Yencich in the leg. He screamed in pain as he collapsed to the floor and clutched his now bleeding-profusely leg. He looked up at his boss and gave him a pleading look.

"I feel better now," Leonid said before stalking away, leaving his right-hand man bleeding on the floor.

…

"What do you mean, he spent the night with her?" Lauren asked. She washed the lettuce in the sink and proceeded to put it in the salad spinner that she and FDR had received for their own wedding.

"You use that?" FDR asked.

"Yes," Lauren replied. "Now what were you saying about Tuck?" she asked.

"Oh, well, the night that we were supposed to be doing recon? Well, Katie and her boyfriend happened to be at the same restaurant that our mark and his girlfriend were going to. And Katie and her boyfriend got engaged."

"No shit!" Lauren said. She smacked her husband in the upper arm. "How did you not tell me this?!" she yelled. "That guy is so good to her."

"You knew she was seeing someone?" FDR asked, remembering that Tuck had no clue.

"Well, yeah," Lauren smiled. "You didn't?"

"No. And neither did Tuck."

"But what happened with Amanda?" Lauren asked.

Tuck sat down on one of the barstools and watched his wife drain the water from the bottom of the salad spinner.

FDR had moved into Lauren's house; it made more sense than having Lauren move into his bachelor pad. While he missed the pool ceiling, climbing into bed with his wife every night was so much better. Who'd have thought?

"Apparently, they got really drunk and then almost had sex," FDR told her.

Lauren stopped and looked at him.

"Almost?"

"Well, I guess they passed out," FDR said.

"Sounds like something you'd do," Lauren remarked.

"I told you; that was a well-aimed tranquilizer dart. I think I've proven, on many occasions, that I don't fall asleep like that," he said as he moved from the stool to her side. His hand found the roundness of her baby belly and he rubbed it.

"Countless times," Lauren replied. "So, how did you find out about this? Because having known Tuck for some time, he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that would divulge something like this that you would hold over his head forever."

"By accident. Somehow in their…well, whatever exactly they were doing, they ended up turning the mic back on that Tuck'd been wearing," FDR said, taking a bite of a carrot. "It got leaked to the entire branch by some crazy woman who worked in the IT department. Apparently she's been stalking Tuck for years."

"Shit," Lauren said.

"So, Tuck and Amanda spent the night together and then had breakfast together with the girls the next morning. And today, Amanda punched that woman who leaked the audio. Like, broke her nose and everything."

"Did you do any actual work?" Lauren asked.

"Define: work," FDR replied. "I _did _agree to a trip out to Nana's house this weekend."

"That sounds great," Lauren said. "The weather is supposed to be great."

"And I convinced Amanda to bring the girls and Tuck's going to bring Joe," FDR said. "Get this: it's an engagement party for Katie."

"I think you'll like her fiancé," Lauren said. "He's really great."

"Well, I trust your opinion," FDR said. "After all, you picked me."

…

Author's Note: thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. This little one right here is getting a better response than I could have hoped!

Thanks in advance.

Review, please?


	7. Chapter 7

A New War

Seven

"I suppose if you don't want to go to the party and have fun and meet some new people, you don't have to. I'll ask if Jeanne can come over tomorrow," Amanda said. "But if she can't you'll have to go with me and Sophie."

"Fine. I'm sure Jeanne will say yes," Cameron said.

"I hope for your sake that she does," Amanda replied back.

"An engagement party for people I don't know sounds sucky," Cameron announced.

Cam had done nothing but complain since her aunt had mentioned the party. In fact, her mood had soured Alex's and now Sophie was the only one who wanted to go with Amanda. Cam had tried to convince her baby sister otherwise, but Soph liked any reason to put on a party dress.

"I have homework to do," Alex said as Amanda turned her attention to her.

"On a Saturday afternoon?"

"It's a diorama," Alex said.

"You can't do it today, when you're off of school?"

"Nope."

"All right. I'll ask Jeanne when she gets here," Amanda told them.

"Can I wear my pink dress?" Sophie asked.

"If you're talking about your princess costume from Halloween, the answer is no, honey."

Sophie looked disappointed. "But isn't someone getting married? Don't you get really dressed up for weddings?"

"Oh, Soph; they aren't getting married tomorrow. It's just an engagement party to celebrate that they _will_ be getting married eventually," Cameron told her.

"Oh," Sophie said, her face still a mask of confusion.

"Who is actually getting married?" Alex asked from behind her book.

"Where are you glasses?" Amanda asked.

"Cam said they make me look like a geek. So I don't want to wear them anymore," Alex replied in a tone very similar to her older sister's.

"Oh, fifteen year old Cameron Lee McCoy is now the authority on what is cool and what isn't?" Amanda asked. "You're going to ruin your eyes if you don't wear them. I wear glasses sometimes. Am I geeky?"

"If the pocket protector fits…" Cameron mumbled under her breath.

"Okay! I've had enough of your bad attitude this week, Cameron. You will not be going out with your friends tonight," Amanda said. She was starting to lose her temper and she tried her best to reign it all in.

Jeanne opened the door to the house as Cameron sprinted past her and up the stairs. A second later, they all heard a door slam closed.

"Looks like it's going to be a good day," Jeanne said.

"Good morning, Jeanne. Sorry about that," Amanda said. "Coffee?"

"Oh, no thanks. I have a bet going with my husband. He's going to quit smoking if I quit coffee," Jeanne explained.

"I think that's very good of him," Amanda said.

"We also want to save up for a trip to Bora Bora."

"Where's Bora Bora?" Sophie asked.

"It's an island in the Pacific ocean," Jeanne told her. "The water is clear and you can stay in a house on stilts above the water."

"Can I go, too?"

"No, Soph," Amanda said. "That'll just be a trip for Jeanne and her husband. Bernie, right?"

"Yup; good guy. Worked for the phone company for a million years or so until he decided he could hear telephones ringing in his sleep. Turns out all the ringing in his ears was just him needing hearing aids, but that's neither here nor there," Jeanne laughed. "So, how's your cute Englishman?"

Amanda laughed. "Well, he's not mine, but…"

"He seemed like he was yours last weekend," Jeanne replied.

Jeanne opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. She poured herself a glass and replaced the carton.

"Tuck is a nice guy," Amanda said. She felt her face get hot.

"You're blushing," Jeanne shouted. "Look, Sophie, your aunt Mandy has a crush on Tuck."

"Mandy and Tuck, sitting in a tree…" Jeanne started to sing and laugh.

"I'm going to tell him tomorrow!" Sophie yelled. "I'm gonna tell him!"

Amanda laughed. "No, you won't, little girl."

"Tomorrow is the engagement party, right?" Jeanne asked. "Have you and Cameron told your aunt you don't want to go?" she asked Alex.

Alex moved the book away from her face. "Um…"

"Wait, they told you first?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, they asked if I could come stay with them tomorrow while you were out with Sophie," Jeanne said. "I don't mind if you don't."

"I don't want to take Cam with her lousy attitude, but it sounds like an amazing punishment right now."

"No!" Alex shouted. "Please don't make us go. Who is even getting married?"

"It's Tuck's ex-wife, Katie," Amanda said.

"Tuck's been married before? That's gross. Find someone else," Alex said.

"You don't get an opinion on who I date, young lady. Any more attitude like that and you'll be in your room with no TV," Amanda told her.

Amanda turned to Jeanne to confirm this and she nodded her understanding.

"I expect you to get your chores done today. As always, Jeanne is in charge and I trust you will both be respectful of her."

Both girls nodded at her.

"I was thinking beach day," Jeanne told them. "After your chores, of course."

"I'm going to chat with Cam for a second. If she can act like a polite young woman, she can go with you. Otherwise, I don't think a beach day is a good idea," Amanda said.

"Of course."

Amanda climbed the stairs and walked to Cam's room.

Amanda knocked and she received no objection, so she opened the door.

"What?" Cameron hissed.

"Hey, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you can knock it off anytime, darling. I did this whole rebellious thing when I was younger and trust me, it's exhausting. Okay, I'm not the cool aunt and you don't a pep talk."

Cameron blinked silently at her.

"So, buck up, Cam. Because you don't have to go tomorrow and Jeanne says she take to the beach today."

"I'm sorry," Cam said to her aunt.

"Me, too. Now, I have to leave for work. You have a good day. Enjoy your day off from school."

Amanda walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

…

Saturday morning rolled around and Sophie was dressed in her finest.

"Soph, the frilly socks are too much," Amanda said. "It's hot outside."

"But they match my dress and my white shoes."

"We're going to be outside all day; white shoes are a bad idea. What about your sandals?"

"Not that I care," Cameron started. "But what are _you_ going to wear?"

"I was thinking my blue dress," Amanda said. Her niece was convinced she had zero style; her niece also didn't know that Amanda kept a whole different closet full of clothing hidden from her.

"That floor-length sundress with the swirls on it?" Cameron asked. "Can't you wear something form-fitting or are you Amish now?"

"Oh, don't spare my feelings," Amanda said sarcastically.

"It's a party, right? Wear a party dress," Cameron told her. "Hold on one second."

She left the room and returned with a dress in her hand.

"I'm not wearing one of your dresses. It won't fit; I'll look ridiculous."

"Dad bought it for me. It's too big on me and too long. I was going to have it shortened, but I won't ever fill it out," Cameron told her.

"You're a perfectly normal girl. And you will fill out in time. Your mom was a painfully late bloomer," Amanda smiled.

"Just try it on," Cam told her.

Amanda took the hanger and inspected the garment. It was turquoise with a slight sheen. It was fitted through the body and it flaired out at the hip. The dress was on the hanger with clear straps. No wonder she was concerned; it was a strapless dress.

"Your dad bought you this?" Amanda asked.

"Yes," Cameron said. "I think he was trying to make me feel better about mom. He forgot that he had no idea what I liked to wear."

"All right, I'll try it. But I need your word that you won't make fun of me," Amanda told her.

Amanda stepped inside of her bathroom and emerged just a second later, dressed in the garment offered to her by her niece.

"You're…"

"I know, it's awful right?"

"No, Mandy," Cam said. "You look great. Really pretty. Hey, Alex, Sophie, come here!"

A minute later, the other two girls rushed into Amanda's bedroom followed by Jeanne.

Jeanne let out a wolf whistle and Amanda rolled her eyes. "Seriously, don't lie to me."

"Dad should have bought that dress for you," Cam said. "It's never going to look that good on me."

"I'm sure it looks great on you, Cammy," Amanda told her niece.

"The world will never know because the dress is yours now," Cam told her. "Just promise me you'll wear your hair down."

"Oh, I don't…"

"Yes, hair down," Jeanne said. "All eyes are going to be on you, my dear. Tuck isn't going to be able to keep his hands to himself."

"Oh, ew!" Cameron said.

"Gross. Boys are so gross," Sophie said.

Alex nodded at her littlest sister, but then looked to Cameron.

"Boys aren't gross, but thinking about Mandy and Tuck grosses me out. You're like…old," Cameron said.

"I'm _like_ twenty-eight. Which isn't even twice your age," Amanda pointed out.

"Despite the fact that Tuck is amazingly hot, it doesn't change the fact that you're my aunt and I don't want to think about you having sex."

Amanda blushed bright red and so did Alex. Jeanne stifled a giggle unsuccessfully and Sophie looked around at everyone like she just missed the punch line of a joke.

"What's sex?" she asked.

"We'll tell you when you're older," Amanda told her.

Sophie pouted then looked at her aunt again.

"Can I wear my dress that's that same color? I want to match you," Sophie said.

"You got it," Amanda said.

"I'll come help ya," Jeanne said. "Don't you dare put your hair up. And get some heels on those feet."

"Alex and I will make sure she's good," Cameron said.

…

"I don't like him, dad," Joe said.

Tuck and his son Joe were waiting outside of Nana Foster's house for the rest of their group. The party had begun in the backyard, but FDR and Lauren weren't there yet and neither were Amanda and her niece. Tuck was nervous. Nana was meeting Amanda for the first time.

"Why not? He seems…all right," Tuck said. He didn't really like him either, but for a totally different reason.

"He's weird."

"_Everyone_ is weird, my son. Your mom, uh, loves him, so we all have to be nice to him because he's going to be part of the family."

"Have you met him?" Joe asked.

"Once."

"Did he have an accent then?" Joe asked.

Tuck stopped pacing and looked at his son. "No. What kind of an accent did you hear from him? Like mine?"

"No. It was while he was talking on his phone to someone. And sometimes I couldn't understand what he was saying at all. Like…"

"Like he was speaking another language?" Tuck asked.

"Yeah. Like another language."

"Hm," was all Tuck said. He wanted to investigate further, but two vehicles arrived right after one another and parked.

"They're here," Tuck said.

"Who is this lady you said was coming?" Joe asked.

"A work colleague," Tuck replied.

"Does she work with you like Uncle Frank does?" he asked.

Tuck remembered that the girls didn't know what Amanda did for a living. "No, I know her from somewhere else. And don't talk to Amanda's nieces about what your Uncle Frank and I do for a living. That might scare them a little."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Come on, its super cool!"

"No, not today," Tuck said.

"All right, fine," Joe said quietly.

A short distance away, FDR was out of their car and he was helping Lauren out of the passenger side. Joe rushed towards them and Lauren hugged him.

Tuck's attention moved to a vision in a blue dress. Her dark hair was blowing in the breeze and it caught the hem of her dress slightly. She pushed it down and then went back to work getting something out of the backseat of her car.

Tuck recognized Amanda's youngest niece, Sophie, emerge from the back of the car in a dress in almost precisely the same color. Tuck chuckled to himself and moved towards them.

Instead of greeting Amanda first, he bent down and kissed the back of Sophie's hand. "Why mademoiselle, don't you look lovely today?" he said.

Sophie giggled like mad and semi-hid behind Amanda.

"You could probably read the phone book and make it sound sexy with an accent like that," Amanda said. She realized that she didn't filter what she'd said.

After the situation the previous Monday, Tuck and Amanda had spent a lot of their time trying not to flirt with one another, but it wasn't working. They had tried to ignore their growing feelings for one another, but the two of them always seemed to be at each other's side.

Today, Tuck was looking at her like he was going to devour her.

Lauren, FDR and Joe walked up to the Tuck, Amanda and Sophie.

"Hey, Sophie," Tuck said. "This is my son, Joe. He's just a couple years older than you. Joe, this is Sophie, Amanda's niece. And this is Amanda."

"It's nice to meet you, Joe," Amanda said. Tuck's son reached out his hand and Amanda extended her hand to shake it.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Joe said. "Is it okay to call you Amanda?"

Amanda smiled at the kid's manners.

"You got it," Amanda said. "And Sophie, these are a couple more of my friends, Lauren and FDR."

"You can't have letters for a name," Sophie said.

FDR laughed. "It's just my nickname. You can call me Frank if you'd like," FDR said.

"Nope, I think I'm going to call you FDR, like you said."

"That's such a pretty dress, Sophie," Lauren said. She smiled down at Sophie and silently hoped that the baby she was carrying in her belly was a girl so she could dress her up just like Sophie.

"Thank you," Sophie replied. "Your hair is really pretty."

Lauren laughed.

"Hey, Sophie, do you want to go swing? Nana's got a really great swing set."

Sophie's eyes lit up. "Can I? Please please please?"

Amanda nodded. "Of course."

Sophie and Joe ran off in the direction of the play set and left the four adults alone.

"Your dress is so adorable," Lauren said. "I like that Sophie matched you."

"She insisted," Amanda said. "And it's disgusting, but this is my niece's dress. It was too big on her, but I think it's too small on me. Isn't it too young for me?"

"Nope," Both Tuck and FDR answered her.

Lauren slapped FDR in the gut, but they all laughed.

"It looks very nice on you," Tuck said.

"Thank you," Amanda replied.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Tuck asked. "Privately?"

"Sure," Amanda replied.

FDR grinned like an idiot and slapped his friend on the back before Lauren dragged him away.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I'm sure it's nothing, but I thought I'd ask you. When we met Travis the other day at the restaurant, he didn't have an accent, did he?"

Amanda shook her head. "No. He sounded American to me. What made you ask that?"

"Well, Joe was telling me that he overheard Travis on the phone and he had an accent and he was speaking in another language," Tucks aid. "He's eight, so it's probably nothing."

"I don't know about that. Kids are pretty good about picking stuff up like that. He probably did hear an accent," Amanda said. "Or he doesn't like the guy."

"He called him weird."

Amanda laughed.

"Well, it's about time," Nana called from around the side of the house.

"When she starts grilling you, I'd recommend calling on your CIA training," Tuck told Amanda. "It's good they don't supply us with cyanide tablets anymore."

"I highly doubt that speaking with this woman is akin to torture that would require suicide," Amanda said, laughing.

"I'll let you be the judge of that," Tuck replied. "I'm just kidding. Nana is a wonderful woman."

Nana Foster walked towards them. She was dressed in a sky blue skirt suit and she had her white hair pulled back in a neat bun.

"You look lovely today, Nana," Tuck said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Don't to kiss up, Tuck," Nana replied. "Nothing is going to get you forgiven for not bringing this one around here sooner. You must be Amanda. I've met your precious little girl already," Nana said as she pulled Amanda in for a hug.

Amanda was slightly taken aback, but allowed the woman to embrace her.

"I _am_ Amanda. But Sophie is actually my niece…"

"She said _daughter_. She must think highly of you," Nana said. "You're every bit as beautiful as Tuck over here said."

"Oh, he said that?" Amanda said, smirking slightly at the man who was trying to play it cool.

"Yes, he did. So, you work with him?" Nana said, dropping her voice to a lower volume. "You're a secret agent, too?"

"Yes," Amanda whispered. "But none of my nieces know that. I'm a legal secretary."

"I see," Nana smiled. "How many nieces do you have?"

"Three," Amanda said.

"Nana, I am going…"

"Okay, Tuck, you go. But I'm going to chat with Amanda here for a few more minutes," Nana said as she waved him off.

"I'll be fine," Amanda told him.

Tuck took his dismissal and headed for a drink, leaving Amanda with Nana.

"So, you brought her along?" Katie said.

"Yes, obviously," Tuck replied.

"To my engagement party?" she asked.

"I didn't realize it was forbidden," he said sarcastically after a healthy swig of his drink.

"I just think it's confusing for Joe to have you parading women in and out of his life. And I don't want women like _that_ around my son," Katie told him.

"Excuse me?" Tuck asked. "Amanda is a wonderful, classy woman and I'd appreciate it if you didn't insinuate things about her. By the way, this is only the second woman I've dated since our divorce. I didn't even know that you were dating someone, and poof! Here you are, getting married. Would you have told me if I wasn't at the same restaurant as you both?"

"Of course I was going to tell you it was a serious relationship, Tuck. But how could I have known he was going to propose that night? It's only been a month."

"Well, isn't that just _fantastic_?"

"What about her? She's already here, meeting people and she's been in your life an hour?"

"Amanda is an old friend of FDR, for your information."

"Oh."

"She is a former work contact," he said. "And I don't want to fight with you."

"That's good to hear," a male voice said from behind Tuck.

He turned and was greeted with Travis Stemworth, the fiancé.

"Nice to see you again, mate," Tuck said, extending his hand. Travis shook his hand and stared Tuck down as best he could.

Tuck wanted very badly to dislike this man, but he couldn't find any real reason. Well, any legitimate reason, anyway. He wanted Katie to be happy, truthfully, and apparently Travis made her happy.

"It's so nice of your grandmother to invite me into her home like this."

"Oh, Nana isn't my grandmother. She's FDR's Nana," Tuck said. "But I was told I was part of the family a few years back," he smiled. "And Katie and Joe then. And now…you, I guess."

"My family couldn't make it, so it's nice to have some family here," Travis smiled. He had a mouth full of pearly white teeth that twinkled in the sunlight. Tuck resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Is your mother here?" Tuck asked. She was the one person in the world that Tuck truly was afraid of.

"Of course," Katie replied. "She's over there."

All three of them turned to look. Katie's mom, Nancy, spotted them across the yard and smiled, but it turned to a grimace as soon as she locked eyes on Tuck.

"What some advice, mate?" Tuck said to Travis. "Sleep with one eye open if you piss that woman off. She'll eviscerate you."

"Mom likes Travie," Katie cooed.

"She used to like me, too."

…

"So, did Nana give you the third degree?" FDR asked as Amanda walked towards him. She had a moderate shell-shocked expression on her face.

"Yes. It might even count as fourth degree. I might use that rapid-fire technique the next time I have to interrogate someone," Amanda laughed.

"You could just bring her in; she has it perfected," FDR replied.

"Where's Lauren?" Amanda asked.

"Had to pee…again," he smiled. "She has to pee, like, every half an hour."

"You're excited to be a dad, aren't you?"

"I never would have thought that I would be saying that. But meeting Lauren changed me in a lot of ways," FDR said. "Made me change my mind about a lot of things."

"Listen to you, waxing romantic," Tuck said, putting a hand on FDR's back. "I think leaving out that we almost killed one another in the process is a good touch."

"I think it's hilarious that the two of you felt the need to fight over a woman," Lauren said as she walked towards them. "But since it was me, it's all right."

"Oh, my god, Lauren, you are the cutest pregnant woman," Katie gushed as she walked up to the group. Travis was hot on her heels and the six of them stood awkwardly around one another.

"Oh, thank you, Katie," Lauren said.

She and Katie tried to be friends after she and Tuck had gotten back together, but it was weird, so they weren't that close.

Tuck's arm found Amanda's waist and she unconsciously moved closer to him. He couldn't even begin to describe how much he liked the dress she was wearing. It was hard for him to concentrate on anything else.

"So, how many kids do you have?" Katie asked Amanda.

"Oh, I have three nieces that I take care of. My brother-in-law is overseas," Amanda explained. She didn't really want to get into her sister's death with Tuck's ex-wife today, so she hoped Katie would drop it.

"Where are the other two?" she asked. "I think I only saw one running around here."

"Sophie came with me. The other two are teenagers and are full of attitude," Amanda said.

"That's got to be a handful," Katie stated the obvious. "Oh! My sister is here!" she said before rushing off.

"Sorry about that, please excuse her," Travis offered as an apology. "How do you work and take care of three young girls?" he asked. He was fishing for information and he hoped this woman was unassuming enough about him to answer honestly.

"I have Jeanne, a nanny for the girls. She runs the house while I'm out," Amanda said. "She's great; a Godsend."

"Oh, I see," Travis said, filing that information away for later.

"Well, I should go with my fiancé," he said. "It was nice seeing you all again. I'm sure we'll all talk again later." His eyes went wide when he knew his accent had slipped out. But none of them had reason to suspect him of anything. He smiled and with a small wave, he hurried to Katie's side.

"I think Joe's right," Amanda said as he walked away.

"What do you mean?" Tuck asked.

"That guy is weird," Amanda replied. "And I _did_ hear a bit of an accent there."

Over by Katie, Travis had his phone out and he was typing out a message.

_We hit the house on Monday. 3pm._

…

To Be Continued…


	8. Chapter 8

A New War

Eight

Amanda was bleary-eyed as she strolled into the kitchen. Her cat, Thommas, came strolling up behind her and meowed to alert her of his presence.

"Hey, Thomthom," Amanda yawned. "Is it breakfast time already?"

He meowed again at her, expecting his food in his dish at that precise moment. Amanda wasn't awake enough to be moving that fast.

Amanda went through the motions of getting the cat his breakfast and he stuck his furry face in the dish immediately.

It was five in the morning and she had to be in to work at seven. It was not even fair that anyone's workday started before eight-thirty, particularly her own. And on top of that, it was Monday, too.

After making herself a cup of coffee, she headed back up the stairs to go get herself ready for the day.

The weekend had gone by too quickly, as it always did. The party on Saturday had been extremely fun, aside from the dirty looks that Katie kept shooting at her all day.

Sophie had thoroughly enjoyed playing with the couple of kids that were there, including and especially, Joe. The two had become fast friends, running around and playing all day.

Amanda smiled at the memory. And her smile got wider when she remembered her alone time with Tuck.

He had offered to show her the grounds and Amanda had ended up pinned to the back barn wall with Tuck holding her there. They were making out like highschoolers until Sophie had shouted out Amanda's name.

And now it was Monday morning and she had to go back to reality. Luckily, her reality involved the charming Tuck.

An hour later, Amanda was putting the finishing touches on her to-go coffee and Jeanne was letting herself into the house.

"Well, don't you look _zazzy_ this morning?" Jeanne said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Zazzy?" Amanda asked.

"How else would you describe a leopard print skirt?" Jeanne said as she swatted Amanda on the rear end.

Amanda had chosen this outfit specifically, even though she didn't want everyone to know it. This grey leopard print was her favorite and she topped it with her favorite avocado-colored sweater. Despite her blue eyes, she thought the green looked nice with both her fair complexion and dark hair. She'd spent most of her youth wishing for any other color hair, but she was now finally enjoying it.

"For Tuck?" Jeanne asked.

"What? Why would it be for Tuck?" Amanda asked.

Jeanne grinned. "You know playing dumb looks terrible on you. It's actually kind of ridiculous."

"Gee, thanks," Amanda said sarcastically. "Anyway, thank you for coming so early," she said, changing the subject.

"It's no problem. I like being up early. And the girls like when I make 'em breakfast before school."

"I know. They hate when I make them breakfast."

"That's because your idea of the most important meal of the day is cereal," Jeanne laughed.

"Okay, so I missed the seminar on feeding children. But I don't feed them hotdogs every day. Which is good, because Cam told me that she is going to be a vegetarian."

Jeanne looked at her incredulously. "What?"

"She thinks meat will make her boobs not grow. Claims she read it on the internet."

"The internet is so full of garbage," Jeanne smiled. "You and I have eating meat our whole lives and we filled out fine. I've never gotten any complaints," Jeanne smiled and laughed.

"Me either," Amanda laughed. "So, if you need anything, call me. I should be able to pick up my phone."

"We'll be fine," Jeanne said.

"I know," Amanda nodded.

Amanda grabbed her purse, her coffee and her keys and left the house.

…

At the CIA field office, Tuck was at his desk, flipping through the paperwork that had been dropped off for him. He was concerned that in the seemingly endless amount of surveillance they had done on the Russian mob that was operating in LA, no one had gotten an image of Leonid.

And they just didn't have any information that they could use to bring in Danton Yencich. But they had noticed that no one had seen Yencich in about a week.

"You look hard at work," Amanda said as she stepped toward him. Tuck looked up and his eyes took her whole outfit in.

"Well, I was until now," Tuck said as he stood. He looked around, and seeing no one, he planted a kiss on Amanda's lips.

"Good morning, Mr. Hansen," she said once they'd broken apart.

He loosened the grip that he didn't realize he'd had on her and she walked her things to her own desk.

"What was that for?" she asked, smiling.

"I missed you."

A warm feeling spread through her.

"You did?"

"Yes," he said, sitting back down at his desk to return to his paperwork.

Once Amanda had booted up her laptop and had her desk situated, she walked back to Tuck. Perched on the edge of his desk, she looked at the black and white photographs he had spread out.

"So, what are you working on?" she asked.

"We still haven't had a confirmed sighting of Leonid and now no one had seen Yencich in seven days. But, there was another jewelry store burned down to the ground last night."

"A front for something?" Amanda asked.

"More than likely," he replied. "So, we did some backtracking and the store was owned by Yencich's uncle."

"How long have you been here?" Amanda asked.

"This morning? Maybe half an hour. But Boyles called me in last night for a bit. The boys in research were up all night looking into the details for me," he said, stretching his arms by putting his hands on the back of his head.

"So, arson?" she said, turning her attention back to the jewelry store.

The image Tuck had was grainy and out of focus, but it looked like neither of the buildings around the store were damaged too badly. That gave Amanda the distinct feeling that the ignition source was done just to destroy the one building.

"That's the unofficial ruling," Tuck said.

"Is there an official ruling?"

"Not yet. Forensics are still on site," Tuck replied.

"Did they find any bodies or any jewelry?" Amanda asked.

"Nothing."

"So, they cleaned out the place and then lit it up," Amanda reasoned out.

"That is what I would assume as well," Tuck said. "It's just going to be you and I today, by the way. Franklin and Lauren have a doctor's appointment today."

"Is everything all right?" Amanda asked.

"Oh yeah, it's just a check-up. I think they find out the sex of the baby today," Tuck replied, smiling.

"Oh," Amanda smiled back. "That's awesome."

"Franklin is thrilled," Tuck replied.

"He and Lauren ends up with a girl, though," Amanda said.

Tuck laughed. "He deserves it."

"Okay, so back to work," Amanda said as she stood from her perch on Tuck's desk and she straightened her skirt. "I'd like to go see the jewelry store."

"Are you a detective now?" Tuck smirked.

"I'm a little bit of everything," Amanda replied. "I want to see if the area has surveillance cameras. They might help us figure out who torched the joint. Or at least who the last person to visit Uncle Yencich's store was."

"Okay, we can go out in a bit. I'd like to finish going through these photos before we go," Tuck said. "Is that all right with you?"

"Of course," Amanda told him.

An hour later, it was already sunny and totally muggy as Tuck and Amanda stepped out of Tuck's SUV and walked towards the site where the jewelry store used to stand.

Both Tuck and Amanda had dark, reflective sunglasses on and she had changed into a dark suit to look more official.

They both walked purposefully to the officer who was patrolling the crime scene.

"I'm sorry. You can't…"

Both Tuck and Amanda flashed their official CIA badges.

"Sorry, agents. Please go right in," the police officer said, holding up the yellow crime scene tape.

"Thank you," Tuck replied. He guided Amanda through the area with a hand on her back.

Amanda had seen, and caused, more gruesome buildings than this one. But this one wasn't pretty and wouldn't be salvageable. The whole thing was going to have to be razed and they could collect the insurance company.

There were not many walls left, but what were there were black and charred and looked like they were going to come down at any minute.

Amanda saw a passing firefighter and touched his elbow to grab his attention.

"I'm going to assume this wasn't some run of the mill electrical fire?" she asked, taking off her sunglasses and looking at him.

"No, ma'am. There was definitely some kind of accelerant used," he told her. "The biggest concentration was in the back of the building, where they probably had a break room or stock room. Whoever did this definitely didn't want what was back there to be found or investigated," he said, smiling down at her.

Tuck nodded. "Thank you," he said with a jealous note in his voice. He wasn't fond of the way that the fireman was flirting with Amanda. "We'll come find you if we have any further questions, mate."

The firefighter grinned at her and then walked away.

"What was that about?" Amanda asked. "I was going to ask him a couple more questions."

"I didn't like the way he was looking at you," Tuck replied, looking everywhere but in her eyes.

"Oh, like you aren't looking at me now?" Amanda laughed. "You don't have to be jealous, Tuck."

"I'm afraid that bit comes naturally," Tuck told her.

Amanda rolled her eyes behind her reflective sunglasses. But she knew he had a point; if he was talking to another woman, and flirting, Amanda probably would be jealous, too.

"There really isn't much left," Tuck said. "Have you seen enough?"

"I think so," Amanda replied.

"Good, because I want to get you away from all of these firemen," Tuck said.

Amanda swatted him in the ribs, but smiled. "I'm hungry. I think you should take me for some lunch."

Tuck nodded. "This could be arranged."

…

"What exactly did you plan to accomplish my burning my poor uncle's jewelry store to the ground?" Yencich asked.

Leonid was in a foul mood and didn't feel like dealing with his ridiculous employees.

Yencich brought his cane down on Leonid's desk and it dented the wood. Things fell over and clattered to the floor. He didn't care; he wanted answers.

"I needed a way to keep the CIA agents busy," Leonid said.

Yencich growled deep in his throat. "My uncle had nothing to do with any of the other jewelry stores that you were using. Why would you do that to an old man?" he asked. "He's had that store since he moved to America fifty years ago."

"And he will be compensated for the part that he's played," Leonid said. He stood up from his desk chair and picked up the framed photo of himself and Katie. The glass was cracked, but he smiled admiringly at it.

"You think a little bit of money is going to replace the memories of a business that be built from the ground up?" Yencich asked.

"Why do you insist on this? This means nothing," Leonid said. "And your uncle seemed perfectly content with his payout. I do believe he and your aunt are planning on moving to Florida," he smiled.

"You could have at least told me what your plans were," Yencich complained.

Leonid stood the frame on his desk and smiled down at it. "You are not going to know any of my plans unless I feel like telling you. You have your job for now."

"Taking children is…"

"Taking the children is the perfect way of getting what we want. We want those agents to suffer for what they have done," Leonid told him. "Don't over think this, Danton."

Yencich shook his head. "But one of the children is the son of your fiancé," he told his boss.

"Do you think I care?" he replied coldly. "Do you think those agents cared when they blew up Heinrich? No. They did not. We will take their children and then we will kill them when they come after the young ones. Do you understand me? Our plan will commence at 3:30 as we have discussed. Do not fail me."

There was silence in Leonid's office for a full minute. There was no movement.

"What the hell are you waiting for?!" Leonid shouted. "Get out!"

Yencich grabbed his cane and hobbled out of the man's office.

It was 2 o'clock already, he needed to get his act together and complete this mission he was given. He didn't want to do this. He didn't to destroy a family. In fact, he didn't care about Heinrich at all, so doing the dirty work to avenge the death of this man meant nothing to him. But since Leonid was a dangerous man, he was going to do what he was told to do.

…

At five-thirty, Tuck and Amanda were packing up their things. Tuck had gotten a text from FDR at lunch that he and Lauren were having a boy. They had made plans to go out and celebrate in the next couple of days. Tonight, though, Amanda was going to stop at the grocery store and then somehow manage to cook her and the girls something delicious for dinner.

Tuck walked Amanda to her car and she grabbed him and kissed him passionately. She caught him by surprise, but he wrapped his arms around her.

"You're sure you can't come home with me?" Tuck smiled down at her. "I can make it worth your while."

Amanda giggled, but shook her head. "Oh, Tuck, I wish I could. But the girls will want dinner and Jeanne will want to go home."

Tuck nodded. "You're right, you're right," he said. He leaned his forehead down on hers and looked her into her eyes. "You drive me crazy."

"In a good way, right?" Amanda asked.

"Of course," Tuck laughed.

Amanda's cell phone began to ring and she looked down at the display. "It's Cam, I should probably take this."

"Sure, of course," Tuck said again. "I'll talk to you tonight."

Tuck smiled at her once more and then walked away while Amanda answered her phone.

"Hi Cam," Amanda said as she turned the car on.

"Hey! Can you come pick Becca and I up at the mall?" Cameron asked.

Amanda put the phone on speakerphone and set the phone down to start driving.

"Why are you at the mall?" Amanda asked. "Are you supposed to be home with Jeanne and your sisters?"

"Jeanne said I could go to the movies because I got an A on my science test," Cameron said.

"You got an A? Congrats, my friend!" Amanda said. "Which mall did you go to?"

"Brookside," Cameron replied.

"All right," she said. "I'll be there in ten. Hang out with Becca 'til I get there, all right? Don't go missing."

"We can probably handle that," Cameron said. "See you in a bit."

…

Amanda and Cameron drove down the street towards the house. It was now almost seven o'clock and Amanda's stomach was growling. But that very same stomach dropped as she got closer to the house and saw the front door standing open.

"Why is the front door open?" Cameron asked.

"I don't know," Amanda said slowly.

Amanda left the keys in the ignition with the car running as she climbed out. Cameron started to move, too, but Amanda stopped her.

"Stay in the car," Amanda said roughly. "Climb over into the driver's seat and lock the doors. If anyone comes towards you, you gun it out of the driveway."

"Where are you going?!" Cameron shouted.

Amanda was already climbing out of the car and drawing her gun.

"Stay in the car! Do what I told you, okay?" Amanda called.

Cameron started to cry, but Amanda had to go check out the house. She watched her niece climb into the driver's seat like she was told to and watched her aunt walking slowly towards the house.

Amanda had her cell phone in her hand and she dialed Tuck's number.

"Missed me already?" Tuck greeted her.

"Tuck, my front door is standing open. I'm going in to see if the girls are okay."

"No! Do not go in the house. Go somewhere safe," Tuck said. "We'll call the police and we'll get agents out there."

"I don't have that kind of time," Amanda said. "I have my gun, I'll be okay. But if you could get over here, that would be great," she said, her voice panicked and emotional.

"Amanda! Do _not_ go in that house!" he shouted at her. But Amanda had already disconnected the phone.

Amanda tucked her cell phone down in her shirt since she didn't have any pockets and looked back at Cameron to try to reassure her. It was probably counterproductive, though, because she had a gun in her hand and Amanda was ready to shoot anything that came at her. Cameron was staring at her with wide eyes and Amanda had to look away again before she freaked herself out anymore.

Amanda crept into the house slowly and started to systematically checking rooms. There were signs of a struggle and Amanda immediately thought the worst. She turned the corner into the dining room, and Amanda's eyes went wide.

Jeanne was tied to one of the dining room chairs with a gag in her mouth to keep her quiet. Jeanne had been crying, Amanda could tell, and she moved to the woman to start untying her after she tucked her gun back into the back waistband of her skirt.

"I am so sorry, Amanda," she sobbed into Amanda's shoulder once she was free from the chair. "He took the girls!"

"What happened?" Amanda asked. "Who took the girls?"

Jeanne shook her head. "I don't know who he was. But he came to the door when I ran to the bathroom. Sophie answered it, I think. He forced his way in the house and I heard the guy. I came out of the bathroom and he was waiting for me. He put a gun to my head and made me sit in the chair before he tied me up," Jeanne explained. She was crying again and Amanda put her arm around the older woman. "I asked why he wanted the girls and he said that it was retribution."

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Amanda said, walking her toward the front door.

"Where's Cameron?" Jeanne asked.

"She's outside in the car," Amanda said. "She's fine."

Amanda could hear the sirens coming closer and she made sure she had her badge on her so she could explain her gun.

Cameron had climbed out of the car and ran to Jeanne and they clutched at one another and Amanda waited for the police officers to arrive. Amanda thought about what Jeanne had said about the girls being kidnapped for retribution. She'd pissed a lot of people off in her career; she didn't even know where to start when it came to figuring out who was working against her.

As the police came to her, she had her badge out and was explaining her gun to them. Cameron had come to her side and was listening to her explain her role at the CIA field office. Cam's face was a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and slight anger.

The police started to take a preliminary statement from Jeanne and an ambulance arrived to check her out.

Tuck arrived a few minutes later as the police were asking Cameron some questions. Amanda was half-listening to the questions that the police were asking her niece; she wasn't going to know anything, but they were being thorough.

"Are you okay?" Tuck asked her as soon as he'd explained his role with the CIA as well. He'd gone through the rigmarole of presenting his badge and gun for inspection before he was allowed past the crime scene tape.

"Ask me later," Amanda replied with her arms crossed over her chest. "Two of my nieces were kidnapped, I can't see the man's face on the security camera at my front door, and my nanny was bound and gagged in my dining room," she explained.

He pulled Amanda to him in a hug and she tried her best to remain calm and not cry.

FDR arrived shortly after and rushed up to the both of them.

"Hey, this is a zoo," he said.

Tuck shot him a dirty look.

"What happened?"

"Two of Amanda's nieces were taken by an unknown man," Tuck explained. "Her nanny is giving a description right now and is getting checked out."

FDR hugged Amanda.

"We'll hunt the bastard down and we'll get the girls back," FDR told her. "Don't worry.

Across the yard, they heard Lauren's voice arguing with a police officer. She was yelling that she should be allowed into the crime scene.

FDR went and brought her back to Amanda and Tuck, explaining the situation as they walked.

She cried and hugged Amanda hard as soon as she got to her. "Damn pregnancy hormones," she sobbed into Amanda's shoulder. "Cameron can come stay with FDR and I for as long as you need."

"What?" FDR said. "Honey…"

"No, Amanda is going to be busy and you and I can look after Cameron," Lauren told her husband. "They aren't going to be able to stay here. And we at least know that our house is safe. Amanda can stay with Tuck."

"No, no, I can't ask anyone for that," Amanda said. "I'll get us a hotel…"

"Right now, I'm working from home," Lauren said. "I'll take Cam to school and pick her up. You need to focus on getting Sophie and Alex back," she told them.

"You shouldn't argue with a pregnant woman," FDR said. "I learned that the hard way," he smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

"I think it's a good idea," Tuck said. "Franklin and Lauren can look after Cameron and you can stay at my loft. We'll get the girls back, Amanda."

…

Okay, there was the latest update. Let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

A New War

NINE

"I don't' understand what it means when you say that you work for the CIA. You're a spy?" Cameron asked. She was freaking out and pacing, but no one could blame her. "How do you get that job? Have you killed people? What does the CIA do?"

Amanda and Cameron, along with Lauren, FDR, Tuck and Jeanne were all standing in the sixth floor conference room at the CIA field office. Both Amanda and Cameron had a chance to pack a bag, but the agency wanted to get a description from Jeanne and statements from Amanda and Cam, so the whole group went to the field office.

"You _all_ work here?" Cam asked.

FDR, Tuck, and Amanda nodded.

"I'm retired," Jeanne replied.

Cameron's head spun. "What?"

"Jeanne used to work for the Agency," Amanda explained.

"I don't work here," Lauren said.

"Have you always known they worked here?" she asked Lauren.

Lauren smiled and shook her head. "No, that was a bit of a shock," she replied. "But these three are the best of the best."

"No way. You're just…you can't possibly be…"

"Know ten kinds of martial arts? Some that you've never heard of?" Amanda said.

"Or take down a guy three times your size in heels?" Tuck said.

"Right," Amanda said. "I almost forgot that."

"Speaking of that, we should go have a chat with him, Amanda. Maybe he's forgiven you for the stiletto heel you put through his foot," Tuck told her, bragging to Cameron on her behalf. "He might be a bit more forthcoming with information with you as angry as you are."

"Well, you might have to go without me. I don't want to leave Cam…"

"I _want_ you to go away. Go find my sisters or something. I don't want to talk to you," she began to cry.

Cameron ran from the room and slammed the conference room door behind her.

"She'll find the bathroom," Jeanne said as Amanda started to follow after her.

"Yeah, she won't' get too far away in this building," FDR said.

"I just don't even know what to do. I can't ask you to take her in."

"You didn't ask. I told you that Cameron can stay with us. You can't stay in a hotel with her. Who would look after her while you're working? Hotels are safe, but not _that_ safe," Lauren said. "You'll be busy getting your other nieces back. FDR doesn't even mind, do you?" she said.

"Well…" FDR began.

Lauren shot him a dirty look.

"Nope. Don't mind," he said. "And my beautiful wife is right. It will be safer to have Cameron at our place because we can keep an eye on her and you won't bave to worry about her."

"But Cameron is a handful normally, she's going to be…"

"It's all right. I was a blond teenager once…well, sort of," she smiled. We'll bond or I'll take her to work and let her destroy some shit."

"I could do with smashing something myself," Amanda said.

"Why can I do to help?" Jeanne asked. "I feel awful about this. It was my job to keep them safe? I feel so useless."

Amanda put her hand on Jeanne's arm. "This is _not_ your fault, Jeanne. This is _my_ fault. I am going to get Sophie and Alex back. Without a single doubt in my mind," Amanda told her. "You aren't useless. You gave a great description of the guy. But since you're the only person who can ID the man who took the girls, the Agency is putting you into protective custody."

"But…"

"Your husband is going as well. You'll both be taking a vacation. That trip to the island is coming a bit sooner than you'd planned on," Amanda forced a smile.

"I, um…" Jeanne started.

"It's all set," Tuck said checking his phone. He read the display. "Your ride is here. They'll take you back to your husband. You can pack a bag and the escort will then take you on to the airport. Your husband has already been told the situation and an armed guard is positioned at your home for safety."

Jeanne began to cry again. She tried to look at Amanda, who was barely holding it together herself, but she couldn't meet Amanda's eyes.

"Lauren and I will walk you out," FDR said. "Now, don't use your phone. A new one will be provided for you," he said as the three of them walked out of the conference room.

When Amanda and Tuck were alone, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him so he could hold her.

"You know, you're handling things pretty well, all things considered," he tried to comfort her.

Amanda pulled back, out of his grasp. "I'm operating on adrenaline only. Those girls are everything to me and now…what if?"

"Don't do that. Not yet. It's been just over two hours. We are going to find them and they will be fine," Tuck told her.

"You know as well as I do, that these situations almost never turn out well. The more time that passes…" Amanda trailed off. She was trying not to cry, but she knew her resolve was crumbling.

Tuck's phone chimed and he looked at the display.

"What?" she asked.

"They've got the sketch finished and Jeanne looked at it," Tuck told her.

"I know it's a long shot, but I think I want to take the sketch to our friend in holding. Since Jeanne said she recognized the accent as Russian, I guess there is a slight chance…" Amanda said. "You're looking at me like I'm crazy."

"No, no," Tuck shook his head. "I think that's a great idea."

"But Cameron…"

"Franklin and Lauren will take her home with them."

There was a tentative knock on the conference room door before it opened. Cameron walked back into the room and looked at Amanda and Tuck with swollen, red eyes.

"You're going to get them back."

"Yes, I am," Amanda replied.

"What do you need me to do to help?" Cameron asked, surprising Amanda immensely.

"You can help by keeping a low-profile. Don't tell anyone what's going on. And I know it's going to be hard, but don't worry."

"What if someone on our street asks what happened? Or one of my friends?"

"You can't tell anyone. It could jeopardize _your_ safety and that of your sisters," Tuck explained.

"Do you know why someone would come take Sophie and Alex? What did you do?" Cameron asked.

"I'm not sure who would do it. I…"

"What do you for the CIA exactly?" Cameron asked.

"I bring in the bad guys," Amanda explained. She really thought the most uncomfortable conversation she had with Cam would have remained the sex talk, but telling her oldest niece that she was a hired assassin was actually the top of the list.

"Do you kill people?"

"Sometimes," Tuck replied before Amanda could. "Sometimes that's part of the job. But not always."

"I think you should kill the man who took my sisters," Cam said. "I know I'm always breaking rules and pushing the limits, but…I just want them back, okay?" Cam had tears streaming down her face as she walked to her aunt to hug her.

Amanda couldn't control the emotion anymore and finally broke down. Tuck did his very best to remain unfazed, but he found the whole thing rather uncomfortable.

Luckily, Lauren walked into the room.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to see if you were ready to go Cameron?" she asked. "FDR and I were thinking of getting a pizza on the way back."

Cameron stepped away from her aunt and sniffled. She nodded to Lauren.

"Okay, honey. Let's go," Lauren said.

"I love you, Cam."

"Love you, too," she threw over her shoulder as Lauren put her arm around it. "Bye."

"You…" Lauren said as she pointed at Amanda. "You keep me updated. And you…" Lauren pointed to Tuck. "Make sure she gets a little sleep tonight."

Tuck nodded, accepting his orders and Lauren left the conference room.

"Shall we go pay Vladimir a visit?" Tuck asked.

"Yes, I think he's our first lead."

…

"You told me I had to get the girls. You said _nothing_ about baby-sitting them," Yencich complained.

"It was implied," Leonid answered him in a matter-of-factly.

"I _cannot_ and _will not_ take care of the children. I am not a nanny…"

"That is about all you are good for," Leonid replied.

Yencich boldly threw his boss a dirty look.

"Get your pretty girlfriend to watch them," Leonid told him.

"Who do you think is with them right now?" Yencich asked with a sarcastic note to his voice. "Those kids won't shut up. The little ones cries all the time and the older one yells."

"What about the third one?" Leonid asked.

"What _third one_?" Yencich replied.

"There are three girls! Three!" Leonid shouted. "You moron!"

"It was just the nanny and the two…"

"Where is the nanny?" he asked through clenched teeth. He was clearly angry, but trying to control himself. His face had turned an angry shade of purple and his handsome face was now sporting an unhealthy-looking pulsing vein.

"I tied her up and left her there," he answered her matter-of-factly.

"So, she could identify you when she became untied."

"I had sunglasses on, so…well, they came off at that one point…"

"You are the biggest idiot in the whole entire world!" Leonid shouted. He punched the man square in the jaw and Yencich flew backwards and collapsed on the ground. "If you weren't related to my wife I would have killed you ages ago, you know that, right?"

He stared down at Yencich on the floor of the office.

"You don't think! You don't plan ahead! You're essentially useless. I want the third niece. These agents are going to suffer!" Leonid said. "And while you're at it, I want Hansen's son."

Yencich looked up at Leonid who was still standing over him.

"How are you going to marry this woman while you're still married to Natasha? And how can you kidnap her child?" he asked.

"Travis Stemworth isn't married, so _he_ can marry whoever he wants," Leonid said. "Now get your fat ass up off of the floor and go get the third girl and Hansen's kid!"

Leonid kicked Yencich in the gut before stepping up and over him on the floor and out of the office.

…

Once Tuck had the sketch in his hand, he hesitated to show Amanda. It was going to be unnecessary interrogate Vladimir.

"Just let me see it," Amanda said loudly. She got a couple weird looks from the other agents that were around them, but she was too focused on the image in Tuck's hands.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Tuck said.

"Just let me see it," she told him as she enunciated each word.

He handed over the image in his hands and Amanda stared down at it.

"Holy shit," Amanda replied. "Yencich."

Amanda dropped the image and went running from the hallway.

…

To Be Continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: Hello Everyone! I'm sorry it's been a while since I've updated…I went on vacation. But I already have the next chapter done, so it won't be so long before the next update. Let me know what you think!

A New War

Chapter 10

"You should at least close your eyes for a few minutes. You've been awake for over 30 hours," Tuck told her. "I can watch the front door for movement."

Amanda was half asleep in the passenger seat of one of the agency's vehicles. It was seven in the morning and the sun was getting bright. She had dark sunglasses on and was doing her best to be nice to Tuck, but her mood was dark.

"No, I'm fine," Amanda said. "I don't want to miss anything."

It had been hours since there was movement in the house. Amanda and Tuck had made it to the house listed on Yencich's driver's license around 1 am. At the time, lights were on and there were people moving around in the front rooms. It was impossible to know if the people were Sophie and Alex, but Amanda had a hunch that they were in that house. She just needed enough of a reason to bust in and take her girls back.

Tuck's phone buzzed and FDR's name was on the display.

"Hey, mate," Tuck said tiredly.

"Any change?" FDR said.

Tuck put the call on speakerphone so both of them could talk.

"No," Amanda replied in an annoyed tone. "Can I just to ring the doorbell?"

"That would be a good idea if you wanted something worse to happen to those kids," FDR said.

"Well, this is stupid," Amanda said. "I can't sit here anymore. I have to do something."

"Let's get another surveillance car here and then I'll take you back to my place to sleep," Tuck said. "You aren't going to be any good without sleep."

"I don't care. I'm going to bash his teeth in with or without sleep," Amanda told Tuck and FDR. "How is Cameron?"

"She's fine. I dropped her at school. She's got agency detail on her all day and she's wearing a tracking device," FDR told her. "Does that make you feel better Aunt Mandy?"

"It makes me want to slap you for calling me Aunt Mandy," she said. "But thank you for taking care of Cam."

"No sweat," FDR said. "I can practice being a dad."

"I hate to tell you this, but you're a long ways away from having a 15 year old, mate," Tuck laughed. But Tuck quickly became quiet again as the home's garage door opened and a dark car backed out. The car backed down the drive way and then drove slowly down the road. The windows were tinted a dark color and it was impossible to see inside the vehicle.

"They are either in that car or they are still in that house. You can follow the car and I'm going in the house," Amanda told him as she opened the car door.

"No," he said as he put a hand on her arm to stop her. "We'll both go in the house. Let me call in the license plate. That's not the car we had on record for Yencich."

He realized that FDR was still on the line and he disconnected the call without saying anything. He dialed the number for the agency and described the black Lincoln sedan to the folks that could find it and gave them the license plate number.

"Have someone pull that car over and report immediately if there are girls in the car. Bring him in for questioning no matter what," he said before ending the call.

Amanda was up and out of the car before he could stop her again.

"What's the plan here, Amanda? Go in, guns drawn, and just search the place? Because you're going to scare the shit out of those girls if they're still in there or something really bad could happen. The house could be wired to explode or…"

"You've been watching too many spy movies."

"Tell me I'm wrong then," Tuck challenged her. "Tell me that it'll all be honky-dory going in there. The girls will be baking cookies and…"

"Enough, okay!" Amanda yelled. "Enough! What's your plan?"

"Approach from the backyard. Through the hedges…"

Tuck's phone rang and he looked down at the display. FDR.

"What, Franklin?" he said in an exasperated tone.

"They pulled over Yencich's girlfriend already…April," FDR said. "She was the one driving the Lincoln."

"And?" Tuck said into the car. And she's fine, so far."

"They've picked up Alex already," Tuck told Amanda. "Is the girlfriend saying anything about Sophie?"

"No, but the woman sounded pretty terrified. She…"

Tuck stopped listening because his focus shifted to Amanda who was dashing across the lawn towards the front door.

"Holy shit. I've gotta go, mate," Tuck said. "Amanda is about to do something really stupid."

He disconnected the call and slammed the door. Tuck dashed after Amanda and was able to catch up to the mad woman as she approached the side door.

"You got a plan there, slick? Or are you just going to go in there and, more than likely, get shot at?" Tuck asked.

"Why would I get shot at?"

"Um, because they had to have seen you run through the front yard. And if not you, then me. One of us had to be seen."

"I get it, you're mad at me. But now isn't the time," Amanda told him. She took the gun out of the holster she was wearing and readied it. Her youngest niece had to be in this house. "I suggest you stand back."

Tuck did as she requested before Amanda put her foot into the door. It took two more shots like that with her foot screaming in agony before the door did as she wanted. But it didn't matter; they were now in the house.

So much for being a secret agency, Tuck mused as they began to systematically check the house. Breaking down a door with guns drawn really wasn't subtle. He was hoping there were no nosy neighbors that would come calling because of the noise they'd caused.

After a search of the entire house, they found nothing and Amanda was all but in tears from both the bad outcome as well as exhaustion.

"Come on," Tuck pulled her away as CIA agents dressed as police officers came to secure the crime scene. They would check the whole house and see if Sophie had ever been there. And now Amanda could go see her second oldest niece and see if she could help them get Sophie.

…

Amanda rushed to Alex as she came upon her in the conference room they'd used just last night. Alex allowed her to pull her into a tight, almost suffocating hug.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Who did this? Do you know where they took Sophie?" Amanda rapid fired.

Alex stared silently at her aunt. Where to start? Alex simply collapsed into tears. Amanda pulled her into another tight embrace.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Alex. I was so scared."

"I don't know where he was taking Sophie. April said she was going to take me to get my hair and nails done. But they took Sophie somewhere else in the middle of the night. I tried to stop them, but…" she cried into her aunt.

"It's okay, honey. Really. You did great. Do you know what his name was?" Amanda asked.

"April called him Danny. But I think that was a nickname. I don't know what his real name is," Alex told them.

Amanda pulled the picture of Danton Yencich from her pocket. "Is this the guy?" she asked.

Alex nodded furiously. "That's him for sure! And he was making plans to get a boat ready at the marina."

"Okay, honey. Good girl," Amanda hugged her.

She stood up to full height and looked at Tuck, who was in the corner of the room, giving them space.

"So, the marina?" he asked. "Do you want to take that nap before we go?" he continued.

She shook her head. "I was hoping to tell Lauren and FDR that they had one more bundle of joy. And then go out there."

Tuck smirked. "There is no use in arguing with you, is there?"

Amanda mustered up the best smile she could. "Nope. Come on, Alex. You're going to be staying with Lauren while I go get your younger sister."

Alex walked with her and took her hand. "Is Cameron okay?"

Amanda nodded. "She sure is. She's in school but she'll be staying with Lauren and FDR and you."

"Do you really work for the CIA?" Alex asked the both of them.

"We do," Tuck replied. "And your aunt is one of the best."

"Good. Because the guy that is doing all this…he's one of the worst," Alex said.

"Is there anything else you remember?" Amanda asked.

"Danny told someone on the phone that he was going to get Hansen's son, I don't know who that is, and Cameron," Alex said. "And I think he called that man Leon or something…"

"Leonid?" Amanda asked.

"Maybe," Alex said, unsure of herself. "But I guess the guy on the phone said something Danny didn't like."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he swore loudly and said it would be easy for Leon to grab the boy because they already spent so much time together," Alex finished.

…

To Be Continued…


	11. Chapter 11

A New War

Chapter Eleven

"Where is Joe?" Tuck said into the phone. He was trying to play it cool and calm, but he was certain that he was losing that particular battle. And if he'd been thinking clearly, he would have known the precise location of his son.

Katie was on the other end of the phone and she wasn't finding this morning's phone call from her ex-husband the least bit amusing.

"Travis took him to school on his way to work this morning, Tuck," Katie told him in an annoyed voice. "You never care. Why do you care now?"

"What did you say that Travis does?" Tuck asked.

"Why are you asking this at eight thirty in the morning?" Katie asked.

"Because I want to know now," Tuck told her. His voice was angry and loud. She had no idea that her son could be in anger.

"He's a jewelry appraiser," Katie said. "He freelances to museums and decides on the value…"

"I know what an appraiser does, Kate," Tuck said.

"Well, fine," Katie huffed.

"Listen, he's not who he says he is," Tuck said.

"Then who is he?" Katie challenged.

"He's a really bad guy. Do me a favor. Call the school; find out if he's there. I'll have an escort pick you up and then take you to get him. If Joe isn't there, call me immediately. I know where he'll be," Tuck said. "I hope."

"What are you even talking about? Travis is a great guy…"

Amanda wrenched the phone from Tuck because she couldn't take it any longer.

"No, he's not a great guy!" Amanda yelled at Katie. "He's already kidnapped my nieces and it's very likely that he's got your son right now. Now, just call the school as Tuck asked," Amanda finished. She ended the call and handed the phone back to Tuck. "She didn't like me before and she _really_ won't like me now," Amanda told him.

"It's so very unimportant right now," Tuck told her. "Is it really possible that Leonid has been right under our noses this whole time?"

"Seems like it," Amanda said. "We should have figured with a name like Travis Stemworth. That sounds like a made up name. And not a very good one."

They were headed towards the marina, but they were unable to prepare for what was ahead. No one could know what was being planned for them.

"Whatever happens, just get Sophie and Joe out," Amanda told him. She wasn't concerned about them getting Cameron; she knew that the agency would be looking after her. Still, she fired off a text message to FDR.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tuck asked he pulled into a parking spot in the marina lot. "We're going in together and we're going out with the kids together."

Tuck's phone began to ring again. His phone never seemed to quit ringing anymore. He picked it up and Katie's panicked screams filled the car.

"Joe isn't at school," she freaked. "Where did he take my son? How bad of a guy is Travis?"

"Does the name Leonid mean anything to you?" Amanda asked.

"No, nothing," Katie said as she tried to regain her composure. "Are you sure Travis has him?"

"Because someone would have had to taken him out of school. I don't think Joe made it to school this morning; I think Leonid took him with him. The school wouldn't have let a stranger take him out," Tuck told her. These were all logical conclusions.

Amanda nodded in the passenger seat, agreeing with his statement.

"Is there a black SUV outside?" Tuck asked.

"Yes," She said.

"Wave at him," he told her. "If he honks the horn three times, that's your escort."

"Are you sure?" Katie asked. "I waved."

Tuck could hear the horn honking in the background.

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied. He tried his best not to sound annoyed, but he thought he was failing.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Please just go get in the car," she said.

"What if they try to shoot at me?" Katie asked.

"Who?" Amanda asked. "Who is going to shoot at you?"

"I don't know!" Katie panicked. "You're the ones who sent an escort car for me," she whined.

"I'm going to shoot her myself," Amanda said. "Please go get in the goddamn car."

"The driver is motioning for me," Katie said.

"He's a trained sniper, so he'll have you covered," Amanda told them. "But if you don't mind, I would like to go find your son and my niece and make sure _they_ are all right? How does that suit you?"

"Okay, okay," Katie said.

They heard the door slam and they could hear Katie huffing and puffing as she booked it for the agency's SUV. They heard another door open and slam close a second later.

"I'm in," Katie whispered into the phone.

"Good," Tuck said.

"I'm Agent Bothwick, ma'am," both Amanda and Tuck heard the driver say.

"Nice to meet you," Kaite said as she tried not to panic further.

"Okay, you're good," Amanda said before putting an end to the call. She was going to say something about Tuck's ex-wife but bit her tongue. It was not the time and she knew she'd regret it at a later date.

"Bothwick is a trained sniper?" Tuck asked.

"Maybe," Amanda replied. "It's seemed to calm her down a bit."

"You don't like her?" Tuck almost smirked.

"She's lovely. Let's go get the kids."

Both of them exited the car.

"We should go find a list of boats docked here. It would take us hours."

"Do you think he just has a boat registered in his name? We couldn't find Leonid and he's just been running around as Travis Stemworth since he set foot in our country? Faking an American accent and…"

"Shhh…" Tuck told her and pulled down and behind a wall.

"What the hell are you…" she started.

"Quiet!" he whispered hoarsely as he put his hand over her mouth. He pointed with his free hand and then she focused on what he was shushing her about.

Yencich, now with his foot in a boot, indicating some kind of injury, was holding Sophie's hand as they walked along the docks.

Tuck had to hold Amanda back as she tried to rush for Sophie. The little girl was pointing at some ducks and smiling. Yencich nodded and urged Sophie to follow him onto the very large yacht nearer to the animals. She did follow him and Amanda's heart sank. But Amanda didn't know what she expected the small girl to do.

Once Sophie had been led onto the yacht, Yencich signaled over the deck railing and someone came around the corner with a kicking and screaming Joe Hansen.

"That's my boy," Tuck smiled despite the situation. "I apologize for stating the obvious, but we need to get on that boat."

"It's all right," Amanda said. "Let's go. Leonid is probably aboard. I would like to personally drag his ass into headquarters. After a couple good shots to the face with my fists. I don't understand why they are using a yacht. Isn't that a little conspicuous?"

"Or really inconspicuous," Tuck said.

Both Tuck and Amanda waited with bated breaths to see if anyone else came around the corner in the marina. When no one did, they both knew it was time to move before the boat did.

"Go," Tuck told her.

They both ran for the lower deck of the yacht that was still tied up at its slot in the marina. No one was watching this area, so they took it as a good sign.

"Can Sophie swim?" Tuck whispered to Amanda as they crept along side of the desk.

Amanda nodded to indicate yes. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but she now was now assuming that she was going to get wet. But it didn't matter; she was steps away from getting her niece back and bringing down Leonid.

"Danny! I want to feed the ducks!"

"You can feed the ducks in a little bit, okay, Sophie?" Danny told her.

"Okay," Sophie said. "When am I going to go see my dad?" she asked.

It dawned on Amanda; that's why Sophie wasn't fighting to get away. They told her they were going to see Greg, Sophie's dad, and she was just young enough to believe the lie.

"I'm going to go in and see what we have that you can feed to the ducks. I'll be right back," Danny told her.

"I want to go home!" they heard Joe shout. "Take me home! My dad is going to kick your butt!" he told his captors.

"He's not wrong," Tuck whispered.

"I'm sure your dad'll be along soon enough," Danton told them. "Now, you stay here and keep your friend Sophie company and I'll go get some bread or something so you can both feed the ducks."

Tuck and Amanda heard the cabin door close and then Joe was talking to Sophie quietly.

"No, Sophie. They aren't taking us to see your dad," Joe told her.

"Yes they are! Danny told me that he was sent by my daddy, _he's in the Marines_, to get us. But he said that he could only see one of us at a time, so I get to go first. Then Alex and Cammy," Sophie told Joe.

"No, Sophie. No," Joe told her. "We need to get away from these guys. Hold my hand and we'll go see if they have some kind of little boats or something. My dad taught me how to steer a boat," Joe said. "Can you swim, though? We might have to go in the water."

"I can swim," Sophie said in small voice as she started to understand a little of everything.

"I'll go get the kids. You go get the boat over there ready. We can make our escape that way," Amanda said.

"Oh, really?" Leonid, aka Travis, said from behind them.

…

To Be Continued…

Let me know what you thought! Thanks!


	12. Chapter 12

A New War

Chapter 12

"Oh, really?" Leonid, aka Travis, said from behind them.

Slowly tuck and Amanda turned around to look at the source of the voice.

"Stand up, the both of you," he ordered them. "And put your guns down on the deck."

Both of them removed their guns from themselves and stood, moving slowly because of the gun in his hand that was being aimed in their general direction.

"I didn't want to have to shoot you in front of your children," he said, his full Russian accent coming out as he spoke. "But I'll do what I have to. Get moving!"

He marched the both of them out onto the deck with the kids.

"Dad!" Joe shouted and tried to dash for Tuck. Danton Yencich caught the boy by his shirt collar to stop him.

"Aunt Mandy!" Sophie called and waved.

"Stay with Joe," Amanda shouted back.

Sophie nodded when she saw the gun in Leonid's hand.

"Look how _brave_ your dad and your aunt are, coming after you," Leonid said in a sarcastic voice.

"Aunt Mandy! They told me that I was going to see daddy, but I don't believe them anymore," Sophie yelled.

Amanda could do nothing, but nod at the little girl.

Leonid crossed the deck towards the kids and pushed the girl to quiet her and the force of the shove knocked her down and she started to cry.

"She's just a little girl!" Amanda told him. "Let her be!" she said as she tried to move towards the child.

"Don't you dare move," Leonid trained the gun at her.

"Honey, it's going to be okay," she told Sophie. The small girl was back on her feet, thanks to Joe, and sniffled and nodded at her aunt.

Leonid smirked. "Go ahead, lie to the children. See if that makes you feel any better," he told Tuck and Amanda. "But _everything_ is not going to be okay."

"What are you doing?" Tuck said. "These are just children. They have nothing to do with any of this."

Leonid laughed; a short, sarcastic, sadistic, laugh.

"You really have no idea, do you?" he asked. "You should have considered all of this when you killed my brother."

Amanda had no idea what he was talking about, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Tuck's expression harden. He knew.

"You aren't Heinrich's brother," Tuck said. "Because Heinrich was after us for his _real _brother's death."

Leonid moved towards them again and swung the gun excited as he spoke. "So we weren't from the same mother! We grew up together! And you…" he pointed the gun at Amanda. "You've got a lot of nerve to lock one of my nephews up in your agency building. It was embarrassing to find out that he'd been taken in by a woman."

Amanda narrowed her eyes and bit her tongue. Now was not the time to argue women's lib. Because a bullet was going to hurt just the same.

Yencich was still standing guard over the children; Joe was looking around, trying to decide something. Amanda wasn't sure what he was doing, but it looked like he was trying to find an escape route…and the only way out was going into the water. And even doing that wasn't a sure escape; a bullet traveled pretty quickly.

The yacht engines kicked on loudly, causing the boat to hum and vibrate. The yacht was moving, slowly, out into the deeper water of the marina.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Joe shouted. Everyone's heads turned in Joe's direction.

"Ocean is that way, kid," Leonid said.

"Ugh, no," Joe said. "I need a bathroom," he said.

Leonid sighed loudly and angrily and rolled his neck and shoulders. "Fine! Yencich, take him to the bathroom. And take the girl with you. Don't let either of them out of your sight."

"What's he going to do? Flush himself? They're a couple of children and I am a grown man. Of course I can keep my eye on them." Yencich muttered. "Let's go!" he yelled at both kids.

Yencich started to walk the kids out of sight. They were out of sight around the corner when everyone heard him shout.

"Stupid kid!" Yencich shouted. They heard a thud, like something heavy hitting the wooden deck of the yacht and then a string of broken curses in Russian.

Amanda tried to run again, towards the sound, but Leonid aimed his gun at her.

"Yencich!" Leonid called over his shoulder so he didn't have to take the gun away.

A set of splashes was heard next and Amanda's heart broke.

"Yencich!" Leonid called again when he got no response.

"The kids jumped over the railing into the water. I don't see them," Yencich shouted as he came around the corner once more. He was limping.

"What happened?" Leonid shouted in Russian.

"The boy kicked me in my injured leg," he replied. When I bent down to look at my wound, they jumped over the side."

"You're such a f*ing idiot!" Leonid shouted.

He turned and aimed the gun at Yencich and fired a single shot. Silently it connected with him and Yencich fell to the deck of the boat in a heap. The life in his former henchman disappeared as he bled out on the deck.

"So stupid," Leonid muttered. "They are children; how could they have gotten very far?"

He temporarily forgot about Tuck and Amanda and he dashed to the railing. In the second he had, Tuck grabbed the guns that were still lying on the deck.

Around the corner, Leonid was firing blindly into the water. He was screaming incomprehensively as he frantically searched.

Tuck rushed after Leonid while Amanda rushed to the opposite deck and tried to find the kids. Her stomach dropped when she didn't see them. She couldn't see any sign of them and despite the fact that they weren't in that deep of water, their small bodies wouldn't be able to keep swimming long distances.

Leonid had turned just in time to see Tuck coming after him and while he had a gun in his hand, Leonid decided to throw a punch. The two men proceeded to get into a fist fight, both pummeling the other as hard as they could. The only difference was that Tuck was hitting Leonid with all the force of an angry father.

Crewmembers that were also more of Leonid's henchmen came running to their deck, finally and Amanda was surrounded by five men with guns, all aimed at her.

"Give me your gun," one of the men told her.

"Shit," Amanda hissed as he took the gun forcefully from her hand.

Tuck and Leonid rolled into sight from around the corner.

But then there were two of Leonid's men standing over Tuck with their guns fixed on him. They came to a complete stop as they realized what was going on.

One of the men helped Leonid to his feet and he wiped at his bloody nose. Tuck was still on the ground, bleeding from the corner of his mouth and his forehead.

"Well, at least some of my men know what to do," Leonid said. "Put the both of them below deck. And do something with this mess," he said, toeing Yencich's body.

Tuck and Amanda were forced below deck and tied to the chairs in a small bedroom.

A tear rolled down Amanda's cheek before she could stop it. She didn't want to cry, especially in front of Tuck, but she couldn't control it any more.

"We're going to get out of here and we're going to get the kids," Tuck told her.

"I didn't see them in the water," Amanda said. "I don't know where they could have gone. We're further away from any of the docks than I thought. And while Sophie can swim, I don't think…"

"Stop," Tuck said. "Joe wouldn't have jumped if he didn't think he could make it," he explained. "My son…"

"You've raised him well," Amanda said. "He was awfully brave back there."

"Which is why I know that they're safe. Very wet, but safe," Tuck said. "I've got a lot of faith in my son. I might not have been the best father, but I know Joe is okay," he said.

"So, how are we going to get out of here?" Amanda asked.

To Be Continued…

…

Let me know what you think…


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: This chapter is rated M. This chapter has some coarse language and some adult situations. Please, don't read this if you're uncomfortable with these things.

A New War

Chapter 13

"I can't honestly say that I have never ended up like this," Amanda said. "And I do not like this," Amanda finished thorough gritted teeth. Her fingertips were raw and her nails broken as she clawed at the ropes that bound her hands behind her back. Her shoulders were sore and her body was stuck at an awkward and uncomfortable angle as the chair chosen for her was unusual. In spite of the situation, Tuck looked perfectly comfortable and relaxed in his own chair.

Tuck almost made a smart comment about her own statement, but decided that it wasn't the same.

"Can you see anything?" Amanda asked.

Tuck had managed to bounce his chair to a window that was only partially under water. Unfortunately, that was the only thing he could make out.

"No, there's only water. Everywhere, water," Tuck replied dejectedly.

The yacht was moving at a quick pace; faster than Tuck thought it would considering the sheer size of the vessel. They were already clear of the marina and out into the ocean.

No one had been down to check on them in at least two hours and now Amanda really had to go to the bathroom. None of her CIA and survival training could help her battle a full bladder combined with a pissed off attitude.

Amanda did not know what to say.

"Well, if I'm going to die, at least I'm with someone I enjoy spending time with," Tuck told her.

Amanda still said nothing.

"I know it's not much of a consolation," Tuck told her.

"I'm sorry. This is _not_ your fault," Amanda told him. "I'm just…"

"Don't worry. I know," he replied back.

Amanda's sore fingers continued their attempt at untying the knot.

"My fingers have to be bleeding," Amanda told Tuck. "I keep slipping as I try to undo this," she finished.

"I can't move my hands enough to even try," Tuck said.

"Well, you have semi-use of your legs and feet," Amanda pointed out. "When I get my hands on that asshole Leonid…" she trailed off. "I am going to wrap whatever bloody stubs I have around his neck until he is no longer breathing."

"Shh," Tuck whispered.

Both of them stopped at their attempts to free themselves while they listened for approaching footsteps and voices.

"Leonid said the prisoners would not be going with us," a man said in Russian.

"How much longer until we reach the other vessel?" a second man's voice asked, also in Russian.

"About an hour. The exterior of the boat is much less flashy than this one and we won't draw as much attention," the first man answered.

"I suppose we should check on the two in there," one said. "I don't know why we haven't killed them already."

Both Tuck and Amanda recognized the scrape of a deadbolt lock that turned before the door to the room swung open. Two men, who couldn't have been more than 25 years old each, stood in front of them. One was blond and one was a red head. Neither of them really looked like they were a pair of henchmen, but they seemed to be Leonid's goons.

"Thank goodness you're here," Amanda said breathlessly in English. "I have my last request."

Both of the men laughed at her.

"We are not taking your last request because we have no intention of fulfilling it, bitch," the blond one replied.

"Hey! Watch your language!" Tuck told them.

One of the men turned and slapped Tuck across the face, hard, and Tuck's nose began to bleed again.

"I'll tell this…_bitch_…whatever I want," the other man said.

"Are you sure you don't want to hear my last request? No man has ever been able to do it for me…" she said in a suggestive tone.

"Oh?" the red head said.

Amanda shrugged as well as she could. "Nope."

"What is it?" the second man said.

"Come here and I'll whisper it to you," she told him.

He looked to his cohort and they silently debated what they could do. Finally, the young man walked to Amanda and bent down to listen to her.

As she spoke, Tuck saw the kid's eyes grow wide.

He stepped back and looked at her.

"Do you think he'd be up for it?" Amanda asked, motioning to the other man.

Tuck noticed the totally innocent look on Amanda's face, but the devious smile that was on the young man's face meant something else. What did she say to him?

"Well?" the second man asked in Russian.

The first man walked to the other and dropped his voice low so Tuck could not make out anything. His curiosity was piqued and Amanda's impassive, almost stoic face, gave nothing away.

"Normally, we can't take last requests from prisoners, but…" smiling an evil smile he continued. "Well, make an exception."

"Perfect," Amanda smiled.

"I suppose you'll need to be untied," the blond said.

Tuck was more confused than ever as the henchman moved behind her to start releasing her from her bonds.

"Where should we take her?" the other one asked.

"We should just do it right here," the first answered.

"What about him?"

"Seriously, boys? Make him watch," she replied.

"Tuck's own eyes went wide when he realized what she had promised them. He began to pull harder at the bonds on his wrists and ankles. He never believed she had any intention of going through with it, but he wanted to be able to help when she needed him.

Amanda was loose in another second and she stretched seductively. Her muscles were cramped and she needed them at that precise moment.

One of the men ran his finger along her exposed collarbone and she tried as hard as she could to keep from shuddering and possibly vomiting in complete and total disgust. Amanda fixed a non-committal smile on her face and tried to keep their attention on her and not on Tuck, who was furiously trying to free himself still. And she was doing a pretty damn good job of it.

She started removing her cardigan and both men were staring at her fixedly.

"Don't you think it's kind of cruel to do this to your boyfriend?" one of the men said to her as she took off the shirt she had on. He walked to her and closed the gap between them. He started to kiss her neck when Amanda slid her hands around his neck. She put more strength into her hold and he started to fight back.

The grip she had on him was enough to cut off some of his oxygen and that surprised him. His hands came up and tried to pry her off of him, but her nails were starting to dig into his skin.

The other man had noticed Tuck's attempts to free himself and was now focused on fighting him. Tuck's legs were totally free and he had the chair attached to him to use as a weapon.

Tuck spun and used the chair to hit the young man. The wooden legs cracked and splintered into a million pieces as the guy fell backwards. Tuck's hands were still stuck behind his back, but he now had full range of motion with his legs.

The man Amanda was fighting was now trying to choke her as well. His hand moved over her mouth and nose. He thought if he could cut off her oxygen, she would be easier to fight, but Amanda bit his finger as hard as she could.

"You bitch!" he howled in pain as she stomped on his foot.

"Guilty!" she agreed.

He gathered himself and he charged her. The forced knocked the both of them to the ground and a mix of wrestling and punching ensued.

Tuck's opponent thought Tuck was going to be easy, too, since he was still partially bound, but Tuck was putting up a strong fight.

Tuck kicked out, and despite the usual stigma, his foot connected with the young man's crotch. The other man howled in agony and fell to his knees. Tuck kicked him then with his kneecap; it connected solidly with the kid's skull and made a terrible crack. Tuck watched the kid fall over unconscious and he reflexively moved his knee to make sure it wasn't his kneecap that was broken. It moved find with only moderate pain; he was all right.

He needed to help Amanda who was still locked in a dirty fight with the other man. Tuck was able to break the rest of the chair on the doorframe as another man came running into the room. Tuck had the unconscious man's gun in his hand and the very young man put his hands up.

"Get in here," Tuck said. "Get off of her or I'll shoot you in your fucking head," he told the other man. He turned to the kid. "I want your gun."

The fight instantly stopped and Amanda scrambled off the floor.

They closed the door and looked at the henchmen they now had as prisoners.

"How big is the crew?" Tuck asked. "How many more of you are there?"

"I will never tell you," the man who had been fighting Amanda said.

Tuck walked to the man and pulled on the man's hair. "You will fucking tell me or I will shoot you in the fucking head," Tuck told him. "Do you understand me?" He had so much pent up anger that he figured he wouldn't even feel guilty shooting him.

"Do it!" he dared Tuck.

Tuck moved the gun and fired a warning shot into his leg. The man tried to move in pain, but Tuck still had a firm hold on his scalp.

"How many are coming down here now?"

"There ten of us. Without you two," he cried. Tears were streaming down his face and blood gushed from the wound.

"Did that count Yencich?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, yes," he replied.

"She tossed a spare rope in his direction. "You should use this as a tourniquet," Amanda told him.

"We need to get the hell out of here."

"The other boat is going to have hundreds of people on it," Tuck said.

They used each other as cover and removed themselves from the room. Tuck locked the door as Amanda kept watch. They weren't safe yet, but at least they were out of their prison.

As they began to walk, Tuck realized he needed to know something. "What exactly did you tell that kid…?"

…

Author's Note: sorry it's been a while. But what did you think? Let me know!


	14. Chapter 14

A New War

Chapter 14

"Search the whole boat. It's a tiny ship! Where could they be?" Leonid shouted.

He was furious that his men had let the two CIA agents slip through their fingers. It wasn't rocket science to know how to keep the both of them locked up and stuck in a room and yet they had failed.

"Why the hell did you untie them?" he shouted.

He kicked the man who had bled out all over the floor before putting the rope around his leg to stop it.

No one replied.

"Well?" Leonid continued to ask. "I want to know how they escaped."

Still none of them wanted to answer to Leonid.

"What the hell happened? You must have been shot with your own gun, you moron, and you, you were knocked unconscious," Leonid observed.

"And you…why were you even down here?" Leonid asked the third one.

"I…uh…I came down here because I hadn't seen them in a while," he replied to Leonid. "So when I came down here, I found them already untied."

"We never untied the man," the blond man said to Leonid. "He attacked me with his chair and kicked me until I was unconscious."

"How did the woman get free?" Leonid asked.

"Well."

"Well what?" he shouted. "Tell me or I'll shoot you in your other leg!"

"She had a last request," one man told their boss. "Well, she _said_ she had a last request. So after she told me what it was, we untied her."

"You're a moron, and you're a moron, and you, well, you don't deserve to be on this ship," Leonid said. He raised his gun and fired a bullet to the third henchman in the room. His eyes went wide and he slumped over on the ground.

"Now, I should do the same thing to you two losers, but I think I'm going to make you both help everyone search for the agents."

"Boss, Mr. Leonid, I can't walk," the one that had been shot told him.

Leonid shrugged disinterestedly. "I don't care! Move!"

The kid struggled to his feet and he gingerly put weight on it. He howled in pain again and went crashing to the ground again. However, this time he was unconscious. The pain had caused him to pass out.

"Whatever. Never mind. You stay here," Leonid said to the last man.

He stepped toward the door.

"No! Don't leave me here!" He yelled.

But it was too late. His boss had slammed and locked the door and he was now left with a dead man and one that was going to bleed to death.

Leonid didn't care. And it certainly didn't matter that he was his godson. He did not tolerate stupidity. And these three were some of the stupidest.

After this fiasco, Leonid wasn't going to be using family ever again. It just was useless to try to include them. No, he was definitely going to use people with experience from now on.

His next task was to find the two CIA agents. They had managed to get away from the ridiculous children he'd been employing, but they wouldn't get away from him.

He slammed his fist into the wall and the paneling cracked with the force. First the two kids had gotten away, but he assumed they drowned. And now both Hansen and Simons were gone. But not for long; he was going to go through the whole ship to find them. And no one could get away…he had the main deck safely guarded and all of the lifeboats were thrown overboard. No one was getting away from him, especially not these two. These two were going to pay.

"We don't have much time left to hide here," Amanda whispered. She and Tuck were crouched down, hiding, while the remaining crewmen searched the ship. Eventually, their hiding spot would be found, simply by process of elimination. What his men lacked in, well, everything, they were going to be epically great at hide and seek.

"Well, we've got a couple of options," Tuck replied. "We can make a break for it and we might get shot at in the process, or…"

"We could wait and let them find us and then they can shoot us," Amanda finished. "So what poison do you choose?"

"There is the chance, since we also have guns that we could shoot our way off of the boat."

Amanda nodded. "I suppose."

"You don't seem convinced," Tuck said. "I mean we _could_ do it."

"Well, whatever we're doing, we need to do it now," she told him. Amanda motioned with her head to the right. That direction was clear. They could start that way. They would probably never make it in the ocean, but they could try to take over the ship they were on.

Tuck moved past her and snuck up on one man first. Tuck swung and made direct contact with the man's skull. He started to fall and Tuck caught him before he made too much noise on the deck.

Amanda attempted the same kind of maneuver, but wasn't as lucky. She was now defending herself against two assailants.

Tuck started to help her, but more started to surround them. How many people were on this ship really?

Both Tuck and Amanda knew that they were exhausted, but their only hope of getting out alive was to continue to fight.

If the men thought she was going to be limited because of her skirt, they were sadly mistaken. She kicked one and the slit of her skirt went higher, giving her a better range of motion.

The same man came back and landed a punch that knocked her onto her butt. Both men came running at her and she was able to trip one while she started a fight with the second.

"Fight back all you want!" Leonid's voice told them. "But here is the next leg of our trip and you will _not_ be joining us. Stephen, are there sharks in this part of the ocean?"

"I believe sharks are everywhere, sir," Stephen, a man to his left, replied.

An evil smile spread across Leonid's face. "Good. Go on and shoot them, then throw the both of them overboard," he ordered. "If you're lucky, they'll get you quickly. But maybe you'll be one of those shark attack victims that lives to talk about all of the horrors."

Amanda was picked up and set on her feet by the man she had kicked previously while their boat came alongside a very large freighter.

Tuck was forced over next to Amanda while the very few remaining crew members held them at gunpoint.

"Why do we keep ending up like this?" Amanda asked. "Because I really don't enjoy it. I would want anyone to think I have enjoyed it," she babbled. Up until this point, she thought they stood a chance, but now it was looking like the end for Tuck and Amanda.

"Ditto," was all Tuck managed before people from the other ship landed next to them on the deck.

"All right!" one of the men called. "Hands up! Or I _will_ shoot!"

Amanda started to comply and put her hands up, but Tuck grinned at her and stopped her. He knew that voice and he knew it was the voice of someone on their side.

"Hey, mate," Tuck said to FDR as more men surrounded Leonid and his bad guys.

"Did ya miss me?" FDR asked with a huge grin on his face.

"How did you take over the freighter?" Amanda asked. "How did you even find out about it?"

"Well, I had a little bit of help," FDR pointed.

Tuck and Amanda squinted in the direction that FDR was pointing. Amanda had no idea who the man was, but Tuck sighed loudly and she thought she saw a smile on the unknown man's face.

"You didn't," Tuck said.

"Well, the alternative was that you would be dead now," FDR told him. "He was already working on it from the European side of things anyway. And, well, he's your brother."

Two CIA agents marched Leonid past Tuck and Amanda. He was shackled behind his back, but that didn't stop the sneer from forming on his face.

"Hold on," Tuck said.

They stopped moving Leonid along and Tuck looked into the man's eyes.

"You almost won," he said before punching the man as hard as he could in the gut.

Leonid let out a puff of air as all oxygen left his diaphragm. His face turned green as though he was going to be sick and he tried to fall onto his knees in pain, but the two men on either side of him wouldn't let him move.

"My son had better be okay. Otherwise, our next chat won't be as pleasant as this one."

The two agents dragged Leonid away and the three of them were almost alone.

"How are the kids?" Amanda asked. She felt guilty. While she had been in immediate danger herself, thoughts of Sophie and Joe were gone. But now it was hitting her full force and she was trying not to cry.

Tuck also had a concerned look on his face while they waited for FDR to answer them.

"Well?" Tuck asked.

"Those kids…" FDR started, but Tuck had him by the shirt collar.

"So help me if you don't…"

"Joe and Soph are terrific swimmers," FDR announced. "I would have never guessed. But I was in one of those dinky little boats with one of those pull-cord motors and…"

"FDR, I _need_ you to tell me a little bit faster. My nerves can't take it," Amanda announced.

"I was maybe half a mile behind you guys and I found them on a dock. Joe had pulled them onto one of those random floating docks. I turned around and got them checked out and then joined your brother to get you guys. You should be so proud of those kids."

"They are okay? You're not kidding? Both of them?" Amanda kept asking.

FDR smiled. "Both Sophie and Joe are totally fine. And by now, they're probably dried out," FDR finished.

All of the adrenaline that she had was gone, Amanda passed out and Tuck very nearly missed catching her before she hit the deck.

…

To Be Continued…

A/N: okay, there was the newest installment. What did you think? Thank you!


	15. Chapter 15

A New War

Chapter 15

Amanda heard the voices of the people around her before she opened her eyes. She counted them as they all talked amongst themselves. One, two, three, she counted silently. All of the girls were there.

Then there was a man's voice. An accented one. Tuck; she recognized.

She decided it was time to let them all know she was awake. How long had she been out anyway? She opened her eyes.

"Hey! Hey!" Sophie shouted. "She's awake!" the youngest yelled.

Amanda watched as everyone's eyes turned to look at her.

She was swarmed by the girls.

"Hey, hold on," Tuck said. "She's just waking up. Give her some space."

Amanda shook her head. "No, no. I'm fine," she said as she held her arms out to the girls and all of them hugged her.

"Are you all okay?" she asked.

"Yeah!" they call chorused together. "We're okay."

"I am so sorry," Amanda said as she began to cry.

"Will you come talk at Career Day?" Alex asked. "Like, this is _so_ cool!"

"I don't…"

"How long have you been a secret agent?" Cameron asked.

"Can we get a puppy?" Sophie asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be traumatized?" Amanda asked. "I mean, I am very happy that you aren't, but…"

"I think we should get a puppy that'll grow into one of those really big dogs. And he can eat bad guys so you don't have to fight them," Sophie said. "We could just let the dog out."

"That's a great idea," Amanda said. "We'll see, okay? Where's Joe?" she asked.

"He is at home with his mother. Katie is not pleased with me," Tuck said sheepishly. "Even though Joe is more than fine," he told her before she could ask.

"Joe and I jumped off the boat and we swam all the way to one of those floaty dock things. I pretended that I was Ariel," Sophie smiled. "Can I dye my hair red?"

"No," Amanda said. "You have beautiful blond hair," she said. "And your dad would kill me if I let you dye your hair."

"Dad won't know! I'll dye it back before he comes home," Sophie said.

"No," Amanda shook her head. "Are FDR and Lauren here somewhere?" Amanda asked Tuck.

"FDR is out in the hall."

"Hey, ladies," Amanda started. "Can you go out and find FDR in the hallway? I need to talk to Tuck alone for a minute."

"Sure! Frankie is sooooo cool!" Sophie giggled. She clearly knew calling him Frankie would work his nerves.

Alex kissed her aunt on the cheek and Cam squeezed her hand before they all left the hospital room.

"I can't believe this all worked out," Tuck smiled, as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. "I have my son and the girls…and you. And Leonid is in custody…"

"I am going to move the girls to Michigan," Amanda announced.

"What?" he said. "You're joking."

"I just think it would be best for everyone, especially the girls. I almost got my nieces killed. And your son. I think I'm going to hang up my badge and find a nice quiet librarian job. At least I won't be risking people's lives."

"But…"

"Tuck, I really like you. Like, _really_ like you and I don't want give up my job, but…"

"Then don't. Don't quit and don't go. There are more precautions we can't take. We need to give…_this_…a chance," he told her.

He was up off the hospital bed now, pacing the room.

"I don't want to sound like a martyr, but I have to take care of these kids. Their mom died. And their dad is somewhere in the Middle East. I can't guarantee that they'll ever see him again. My parents are retiring soon. They can't afford to take on the care of three little kids. I'm all they have and…"

"But you can stay here. You don't have to move across the country," he said.

"Tuck, I have to take them somewhere that I can get them away from everything."

"And when did you decide this? While you were passed out? Because you can't make these kind of decisions in a stressful situation, you…"

"Tuck, I cannot put myself ahead of these kids," Amanda said. "Would you put yours ahead of Joe and his safety? No, you wouldn't. Because he's your son."

Their voices were raised and they knew they were probably being heard in the hallway.

FDR knocked once before popping his head in.

"Lover's quarrel?" he smirked.

"Go away, Franklin," Tuck said.

"Sheesh. What…"

"I'm going to move the girls to Michigan. I think it would be safer for everyone," Amanda explained.

"Well…that's the stupidest idea I've ever heard," FDR said instantly.

"I don't recall asking your opinion," Amanda told him in an icy tone.

"I don't think that I care," FDR told her. "Do you really think moving them is going to be the best for them? Because I think they're fine."

"When did you become an expert on children?" Amanda asked.

"Both of my parents died when I was young. I _was_ traumatized. I hid in my room for days and then…"

"FDR…"

"No, no," FDR said. "Kids don't fake shit. Usually. If Sophie was really so traumatized, she'd be cowering in a corner. Kids have defense mechanisms, but it's usually shutting down or acting out. Not being excited to get a puppy. Which, by the way, you should probably get her a puppy."

Neither Amanda or Tuck said anything.

"Take it however you want, but remember, I'm usually right. About everything…always," FDR told them. He gave each one of them a smile and exited the room once more.

"How did he pass the psych portion of the exams? Because he's crazy," Amanda said.

"I wonder that myself sometimes," Tuck said. "Can we just put the plans to move on hold for a bit? I won't try to stop you, but I think we deserve to attempt our own happiness while we take care of the little ones," he explained.

Before Amanda could answer with more than a smile, the door to her room banged open and a woman came running into the room.

"Oh, my poor baby!" the woman cooed. She pulled Amanda close and squeezed her tightly.

"Mom…" Amanda sighed.

"I was so worried."

"Mom, how…"

"Cameron called us last night. We've been flying all day," her mom said. She released her from the grip she had on her. "Why didn't you tell us you," she dropped her voice. "…worked for the CIA?" she asked. "How could you lie to all of us?"

"Greg knows," Amanda countered.

"I don't care. I am your mother."

She seemed to not notice Tuck's presence in the room. He started to move for the door, but the mom finally saw him.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Tuck Hansen," he said, extending his hand to her.

"Oh, you're the boyfriend, then. Cammie told me _all_ about you. And your accent," the mom said with her eyes narrowed at Tuck.

"He's not…"

"I'm not…"

"You spent the night with my daughter; that's what Cammie told me."

"Well, that happened, mom, but it wasn't what you think…" Amanda tried to explain. "By the way, Tuck. This is my mom, Pattie Simons."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Simons."

"Don't call me that. That is my mother in law," she told him. "Call me Pattie."

"Okay," Tuck said in an unsure way.

"Could you give us a minute alone, Mr. Hansen?" she asked.

He nodded. "Of course. I'll go check on the girls," he said. "And FDR."

Amanda watched him leave and really wished that he wasn't going. The door closed and Amanda braced herself.

"What would you have done if those girls had been killed?" her mom asked. "How long have you been down this career path?"

"Since I was 19," Amanda answered. "I changed my major to criminal justice and…"

"You have a degree hanging in our living room that says you have a BA in Art History."

"Well, the CIA is pretty thorough for background stories…"

"How did you get involved? Have you killed anyone?" her mom asked with wide eyes.

"Mom, I would rather not answer that," Amanda said as she started to get up off of the bed. "Do you see my clothes somewhere?"

"You need to stay and rest. Your face is black and blue," her mom said she started to cry.

"Mom, I'm fine. And apparently the girls are better than fine. Do you think it would be okay if we moved in with you and dad for a bit? Until I can sell the place out here and find us something else?"

"No."

"No?" Amanda said, standing up from her crouched position next to the hospital bed.

"You are not moving those girls. I spoke to them. And they think their aunt is the coolest thing since sliced bread."

"I said 'we' right? I'm not just moving the girls to Michigan. I would go, too. And find a new job," Amanda said.

"Doesn't matter. You could have gotten them killed, but you didn't. You risked your life to get them home safe. I'm not thrilled that you carry a gun, but I would hate to see the guy you were fighting based on the way you look," her mom said. "So, to sum it up: as angry as I am that you lied to me…for years…and that you almost got yourself and _all_ of my grandchildren killed, you didn't. And you're here to get yelled at for it now."

They remained silent while they both processed the situation.

"Do I really look that bad?" Amanda asked.

"You look like hell," her mom told her.

"Thanks, mom."

"Hey, I'm honest to a fault," her mom smiled. "You must get the lying streak from your father."

The mood lifted significantly and Amanda crossed the room to hug her mom.

"I'm sorry, mom," she said. "This whole thing went a lot better than I thought I could have," Amanda said. "I was going to tell you last Thanksgiving, but Greg made that pronouncement about going back overseas and…"

"Weren't you scared?" her mom asked as Amanda pulled on the leggings that her nieces must have brought her.

"Of course, mom. I don't particularly like getting guns drawn on me or doing hand to hand combat. And I ruined my favorite skirt in the process," Amanda explained. "And all of that was on top of the fact that I almost lost my nieces."

"Your dad and I are going take the girls to Disneyland for a week. We talked on the plane that if they were really okay, we'd take them. And I think they _really are_ okay," her mom said. "I should probably call the airline and apologize, too."

"For what?" Amanda asked.

"Well, we were frantic when we needed tickets. We weren't very kind to the ticket agent and then we made one of those flight attendants move us where we wouldn't bother people with our praying."

"Oh," Amanda said. "I see."

"So, I'll go find the girls and we'll go get their things from…Lauren's house? Who is Lauren?"

"She is a friend of mine," Amanda told her.

"Okay, well, we can get the girls' things and then probably stay in a hotel tonight. Then we can head to Disneyland tomorrow," her mom said. "We'll be gone a week or so. You can get the security in that house set up."

"Unfortunately, all the security in the world can't compete with a five year old that wants to open the front door when her nanny is going to the bathroom."

"She did what?"

"It's not her fault. She opened the door. It has never been an issue before, so why would it even have crossed her mind?" Amanda said. "But that front door is triple walled steel. If it had remained closed and locked, no one would have gotten in. . My windows are bulletproof glass. And they are all wired with a state of the art security system. But it can't stop someone who was_ let_ into the house."

Amanda finished and started for the door, but Pattie stopped her.

"What?" Amanda asked.

"I want to know about Tuck," her mom said.

"Mom…" she whined.

"You're 28 years old. Don't do that," her mom warned. "So, have you and he…you know…"

"Mom!" Amanda blushed. "I'm not…"

"Well, he's cute. No, handsome. No, well, he's sexy. And I think you should, if you already haven't. Because you aren't getting any younger."

…

To Be Continued…

…

Author's Note: What did you think?


	16. Chapter 16

A New War

Sixteen

"I just don't even know why you still want me," Jeanne told her.

It was the day after Amanda had been released from the hospital. She had to convince the woman to meet her for coffee, but eventually Jeanne had given in .

"I just feel so bad," Jeanne said.

Amanda smiled. "Okay, so it wasn't exactly like we'd planned, but how often does life happen according to plan?"

"I know what you're doing and…"

"Is it working?" Amanda asked.

"No," she replied firmly.

"My parents have the girls and they are safely in Disneyland. They left this morning. I have a security detail on them. And I can personally guarantee that none of the girls will _ever_ answer the door again," Amanda told her. "And they are okay. All of them were checked out by doctors. And I am going to make sure they see one of those shrinks we employ at the agency. All things considered, it went well, honestly."

Jeanne still looked unconvinced.

"Seriously. I don't want to downplay it because it was scary as hell, but they are okay. Really, they are," Amanda told her.

"Will they forgive me?"

Amanda laughed. "Of course! Sophie wanted to call you and I thought it wasn't a good idea yet."

"_She_ wanted to call _me?_ Jeanne asked.

"Soph wanted to call and tell you that she was sorry that she opened the door without asking first," Amanda explained. "I was originally concerned for her because I thought she was going to keep blaming herself that this all happened, but she's back to herself."

"Oh, that sweet thing," Jeanne said, tearing up.

"Don't you dare cry on me," Amanda laughed. "I can't handle when people cry at me."

"You're in a world of hurt considering you have three girls…" Jeanne said.

Amanda nodded. "That is for sure," she answered. "So, will you at least consider it? Please? I'll beg. It will be pathetic and terribly sad. You aren't going to like it if I beg…" Amanda said.

"Okay, okay," she said, holding her hands up. "But before I _do_ come back, I want to sit down and talk to the girls," Jeanne said. "With you. And that fella of yours."

"That _fella_ of mine?" Amanda asked.

"Are you two knocking boots yet?" Jeanne asked. "I'll bet that's a good time…"

"You are starting to sound like my mom. And I don't like it."

Jeanne grinned at her.

"No, I have not had sex with Tuck yet, okay?" Amanda said.

"Why not?"

"I think I was a little busy trying to rescue my nieces and his son. And…it is never going to work out."

"Ugh, I don't want to hear this sad crap from you. You don't need me to tell you that you're beautiful and that Tuck would be lucky to have you," Jeanne said.

"I don't?" Amanda asked.

"Smart ass," Jeanne told her.

"Well, I'm definitely going to continue doing what I do best," Amanda said, smiling. "You have to come back to us. You help keep me sane."

"You know a good way to keep yourself sane is to have a good shag every now and then…"

"Oh, man," Amanda sighed. "Really? Did you really just tell me that?"

Jeanne smiled. "Now it's settled. I definitely have to come back, my dear. I _have_ to continue to make sure you're making progress with that man," Jeanne said. "Your love life needs more looking-after than those kids do."

"Am I really that hopeless?" Amanda asked.

"Honey, if your love life was a person, it would need CPR," Jeanne replied.

"How did all of this become about me?" Amanda laughed. "You were so sad about the girls…"

"You said they were fine. Frankly, looking at your bruised face, I'm more worried about you."

"Oh, I've been checked out; I'm fine. A couple broken ribs and my face, but I'm okay," Amanda smiled. She looked at Jeanne's silent reaction to her statement. "You don't believe me?"

"I have a sinking feeling that you have always been one of those folks that puts on a brave face even when things aren't okay…" Jeanne trailed off.

Amanda said nothing.

"I think you keep a lot bottled up, don't you? That's why when you actually let emotion out, it's like an explosion," Jeanne told her. "Am I right?"

"Seriously? How did this become all about me?"

"This is just friendly advice from me. I care about you and those girls and you playing Ms. Sacrifice isn't helping anyone, you understand me?" Jeanne said.

"Clear as mud," Amanda said. "I should call Tuck and ask if he's busy for lunch? See if he wants to have sex?"

Jeanne laughed. "I don't think you'd have to worry about what kind of response you'd get," she said. "I think he'd crash his car getting himself to you."

"So, you're going to come back? After all, you're part of this crazy family," Amanda said.

"Yes," Jeanne sighed. "I'll come back. When are the girls back?" she asked.

"Next Tuesday," Amanda said. "Unless they decide to keep the girls a bit longer."

"Good, you have plenty of time to finish seducing Tuck…"

…

Later that evening, Amanda walked up to the restaurant and pulled open the large glass doors. It was one of those trendy restaurants that was going to be open for a short time before something else better came along. She'd allowed herself to get roped into dinner with Lauren and Trish. She told herself she needed some decompress "girl time".

Lauren and Trish were already seated, she was informed and when she was led back to their table, she found that it wasn't going to be the girl time she'd hoped.

FDR, Bob, Trish's husband, and Tuck were also seated with the two ladies. Tuck immediately rose and pulled out the chair next to him for Amanda to sit in.

"You look like shit," Trish exclaimed when she finally saw all of Amanda's injuries. "You really do."

"Ah, thank you," Amanda said, staring down at her menu. She thought she'd done a fairly decent job covering up the bruises and scrapes with make-up, but apparently not.

"It wasn't exactly a fun time," Tuck muttered.

"Are we drinking? Where's the waiter?" Amanda asked. "I'll just go back to the bar. Can I get anyone anything?"

Tuck slid his chair back. "I'll go with you."

The two of them started off in the direction of the back of the restaurant towards the bar. Absentmindedly, he put his hand on the small of her back to guide her.

"I was tricked into this, too," he told her.

Amanda let out a dry laugh.

"What would happen if we just left?" Amanda asked.

Tuck's face snapped in her direction. "The table is just enough out of the way that they'd never see us leave. I already checked," he told her.

"Let's go," Amanda said.

She pulled on Tuck's arm and they headed at a quick pace right out of the restaurant.

"Order in at your place?" Amanda said as they headed for her vehicle.

"That is the best idea I might have ever heard," Tuck told her.

… …

By the time they got back to Tuck's apartment, neither of them was thinking about food. Tuck could barely tear his hands away from Amanda to unlock the door. It was like all of the built up emotion was finally coming out.

While he finally got the door unlocked and opened, Amanda had unbuttoned his shirt and was now working on his belt buckle.

They had a flight of stairs to contend with next and despite the difficulty, Amanda had wiggled free of her dress and Tuck had kicked free of his pants.

By the time they were at the top of the stairs, Tuck was staring down at her in awe at her in just a bra and panty set. His hands ghosted along her ribcage where the bruises stood out purple against her slightly tanned skin. Amanda winced slightly, but then put her mouth back on his.

… …

Amanda woke up and blinked into the sunlight streaking across the room. A bare arm was across her waist and she smiled when she realized whose arm it was.

She looked across the room and saw their clothes from last night were draped across the chair in the corner. Tuck must have gotten up at some point in the night and picked everything up.

Amanda yawned and decided to go back to sleep.

The next time she woke up, it was because someone was pressing light kisses on the side of her neck and slowly moving down her exposed shoulder. Amanda opened one eye and smiled at him.

"Good morning," Amanda told him. "Sleep well?" she asked.

"Almost too well," he replied. "You?"

"Almost forgot where I was," she told him. "What time is it?" she asked as he stretched then winced in pain as she forgot her bruised ribs.

"You're beautiful," he told her before capturing her mouth with his own.

Amanda laughed. "You already got me in bed…" she trailed off.

"Does that mean I can't admire your beauty anymore?" he asked.

"It means our next move is a shower. Can I use your shower?" she asked.

Tuck smiled. "Only if I can join you," he said. "Hopefully that wasn't too forward."

"I unbuttoned your shirt and unbuckled your belt, totally sober, out on the street in front of your apartment. I don't think…"

Tuck kissed her again to silence her. A second later he'd thrown the covers back on the bed and picked her up over his shoulder.

"Shower time," he announced.

Amanda giggled the entire time she was carried into the bathroom.

… …

"What is this?" he traced his finger around the outline of a tattoo on her lower back as they stood under the running water.

"A drunken mistake," she said, trying to turn out of his grip, but failing.

"Oh, no, no," he smiled and laughed. He bent to get a closer look at the shape.

"I really don't you that close to my butt like that…" Amanda told him.

"Then just tell me the story," he said as he stood back to full height. The smile on his face was sincere and it was melting Amanda's heart and resolve. "It looks like a bat…"

"It's a botched bat-symbol," Amanda told him. "My friends and I were really,_ really_ drunk. And I lost a bet and ended up with a really bad tattoo artist and a tattoo that looks like a three year old drew it," Amanda explained.

"Why the bat-symbol?" he laughed.

Amanda laughed, too. "We played darts and that's the design that I hit. Well, technically I missed the dart board and hit the autographed Adam West picture…I was really drunk. Have I mentioned that?" she said.

"It kind of looks like a lumpy bunny," he said running his hand over it again.

Amanda kissed him again as the water came down on the both of them.

"What does this mean…for the both of us now?" Amanda asked. "I'd understand if the mystery was gone now…"

"Do you really think I'm done learning about you?" he asked. "I'd like to think we're just getting started. When are the girls back?" he asked.

"Next week," she said, sliding her hands up his chest.

"Well, then…I'm hoping I get some of your time in those days," he told her.

… …

Author's note: thanks for being patient and waiting for an update. I hope this wasn't a letdown. I just figured Tuck deserved a bit of fluff and a break from beating people up all the time.

Let me know what you thought!


	17. Chapter 17

A New War

Chapter 17

"That is all we need?" Tuck asked. "A head of lettuce and heavy cream?" he said before kissing her cheek gently.

They were standing in Tuck's kitchen. There were some pots and pans out as well as various ingredients and spices that she'd found in his cupboards.

"Heavy cream only if you want dessert," Amanda told him. "But some kind of fancy cheese would be good. Well, some cheese that _sounds_ fancy but is already grated and in some kind of re-sealable container," she laughed.

Tuck nodded his understanding. "You got it."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather go out?" Amanda asked. "I'm not that great at cooking."

She continued to stir the sauce that was simmering on the stove. Amanda was dressed only in one of Tuck's discarded shirts and was now cooking in his kitchen.

"It smells good. Besides, then you'd get dressed and I have you do that," Tuck told her. "I just hope you didn't mind cooking…"

"Nope. This is the one thing I don't mind cooking. Especially for you."

He came up behind her and kissed the side of her neck while his hands wandered over the hem of the shirt. "I don't think so."

Amanda turned in his arms to look at him. "At some point I'm going to have to go home and face reality," she said.

"But not today," he smiled. It melted her resolve.

"You are a terrible influence on me," Amanda smiled. "Oh, by the way, did you ever hear back from FDR?"

Tuck grinned and laughed. He then produced his cell phone and held the display for Amanda to read.

"Oh, I think he's mad," she laughed. "I don't care."

"Me either," she told him. Then she swatted his behind with an oven mitt. "Get going to the store or I'm eating without you."

He retaliated by sliding his hand down and squeezed her butt. Tuck was rewarded with a squeal of delight.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be back in twenty," he told her.

"You'd better be. If not, I'll send out a search party."

Tuck kissed her once more and then he left the apartment.

Amanda took a quick second to re-roll the sleeves of Tuck's dress shirt before she continued to stir her sauce.

Tuck was the first guy she'd ever _wanted_ to cook for. She smiled to herself and opened a package of pasta.

A second later, she heard the door open in the other room.

"Hello? Tuck? That was quick!" she said.

There was no response from him, so Amanda set her spoon down and cautiously she stepped into the living room.

"Hello?" Amanda said.

There was a brunette woman standing there. She turned around and studied Amanda.

Tuck's ex-wife, Katie.

"Oh, hi," Amanda said. "You surprised me. Did Tuck know you were coming over? He's not here right now…" she trailed off when she saw her non-emotive face.

"Well, I was hoping to speak with my husband," Katie said. "He and I need to decide on a time for our son's parent-teacher conference."

"Well, he was just running to the market. He should be back shortly," Amanda said uncomfortably. "I'm going to grab some pants, okay?"

Amanda dashed up the stairs and pulled on a pair of leggings before jogging back to Katie.

Katie was at the breakfast bar, looking at the mess in the kitchen. She still had not smiled. She was judging Amanda; she could feel the silent appraisal of bother her and the food she'd made.

"You probably think that you and Tuck are going to make some kind of spectacular couple, don't you?" Katie said, breaking the silence.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"You're wrong. After everything, I've realized that I _do_ love Tuck. I am going to get him back. I have the advantage, too, you know," Katie told her. "I am the mother of his child. You're just a…a booty call."

Amanda sat on the arm of Tuck's couch and looked at the woman.

"Oh," Amanda said. This woman was acting crazy and she'd had enough of crazy for a while. "Well, then," she began. "I guess I'll talk to Tuck when he gets back, then," Amanda told her.

"You will?" Katie asked, totally surprised.

"I mean, I'm really falling for him, but how can I compete with you?"

Katie recovered from her surprise. "I'm glad you see it my way," Katie said.

"Of course; I'll tell Tuck over dinner."

"Shouldn't I be here, too?"

"Seeing the two of you together will only further break my heart," Amanda said. "I think it's best if I can tell Tuck and leave with dignity."

Katie was nodding. It was clear that she was missing the sarcasm.

"I'll tell him to call you when I'm leaving. You can come back then, I suppose," Amanda said sadly, or what she hoped was sad.

The two ladies walked to Tuck's front door.

"You're really going to break up with him? Just like that?" Katie asked. "I expected a fight. I expected a woman like you to be a bigger bitch about it."

Amanda fought to bite her tongue. "It's clear that you really love Tuck," she said. "And I can't fight true love," she almost couldn't say without smiling.

Katie put her hand on Amanda's shoulder in some kind of act of comfort. "Thank you for understanding," Katie said before letting herself out.

Amanda watched out of the peephole before bolting all three locks. She leaned against the door and sighed.

"Fat chance I'll break up with Tuck for you, you crazy bitch," Amanda said out loud.

She shook her head and went back to the kitchen.

Half an hour later, Tuck let himself back into the apartment.

"Honey, I'm home!" he smiled while he shouted to her. It felt good to say that. It felt right.

Amanda emerged from the kitchen doorway and Tuck watched her expression change from a worried look to a fake smile. And he noticed that she was now wearing pants.

"What's wrong?" Tuck asked. He temporarily forgot to ask why the door was triple bolted.

"Nothing," she lied. "I'm fine."

"Well, that's a lie," he said, following her into the kitchen with the few things he'd picked up at the store. "How about I start with why I took so long at the market and you can tell me why you're upset?"

Amanda said nothing.

"I ran into one of Joe's teachers down at the market. And he said that he couldn't stop talking about his new friend Sophie. He asked me if it was some kind of animal," Tuck laughed. "Okay, your turn."

"Listen, Tuck," Amanda said. "Katie was here."

"Katie? My ex-wife Katie? In the forty minutes I was at the store?" he asked.

"The very same."

"And what did she want?"

"You."

"Of course. Did she tell you what she needed me for?" he asked.

"Well, she said you and she needed to decide on a time for a parent-teacher conference."

"That's rubbish because that's not for a month…" he told Amanda.

"And she wants you back. Katie asked me to break up with you because she realized she still loves you. And that she has the _advantage_ because she is your son's mother," Amanda explained.

"And what did you tell her?" he asked as he leaned back on the countertop.

Amanda finally smiled as she gripped the waistband of her leggings and started to slowly remove them. She kicked them aside when she stood up and looked at Tuck.

"I lied. And told her what she wanted to hear," she said, moving toward Tuck.

He smiled against her lips as they met. Her hands wandered to his belt buckle and started the removal process.

"Is this how you break up with a man?" Tuck asked into her ear.

Amanda smiled. "Dress code for dinner is no pants," she told him as she sent his pants sliding down to his ankles.

"I can deal with that."

… …

Katie waited up all night for Tuck's phone call, but obviously did not get one. That woman had lied to her. She was silly to have believed that she would have done that anyway. But she _was_ going to get her husband back. The three of them were going to be reunited as a happy family. And this Amanda Simons was not going to get in the way.

…

Dun…dun…dunnn….

Author's Note: feel free to let me know what you thought!


	18. Chapter 18

A New War

Chapter 18

"So basically the two of you were just having sex for four days?" Trish asked.

Trish, Lauren and Amanda were out to brunch that Sunday morning. Amanda had finally, yet reluctantly, left Tuck's apartment.

Her house was now livable again and she had collected Thommas from Jeanne's house and took him home.

Now she was enjoying a mid-morning mimosa before the girls came home.

Amanda nodded around her bite of Belgian waffle. She swallowed then responded.

"I haven't been able to do that…ever…" Amanda said.

"I think that would kill Bob," Trish said flatly. "I'll remember that."

"I'm so happy for you guys," Lauren said, beginning to cry. "These damn hormones," she said, blotting her eyes with her napkin.

"Everything was really great until his ex-wife showed up in his apartment and I was alone with no pants on," Amanda said.

"What did she want?" Lauren asked.

"She thinks she wants Tuck," Amanda told her.

Lauren drank down her orange juice. "Katie said that?"

"She sure did."

"That bitch," Trish said. "What game is she playing?"

"I don't know," Amanda shook her head.

"What did you tell her?" Lauren asked. "I probably would have slapped her."

Amanda looked around. "I lied. I told her I'd break up with him," she laughed. "She has to know now. Tuck is so angry with her. I had to keep him from calling her and yelling at her."

"I can imagine," Lauren said. "I know you're trained and all, but be careful with Katie. She's kind of crazy. FDR has told me some things. Like Joe might have been a little more planned than she let Tuck believe."

"What?" Amanda said.

"FDR said she and Tuck were kind of on the rocks when she found out that she was pregnant with Joe. Don't tell Tuck, please. FDR'll be pissed that I said anything to you."

Trish waved her hand. "If you can't tell your girlfriends that kind of stuff, what can you tell us?" she said. "I did the total opposite. Bob and I decided to start having kids and I chickened out and got a diaphragm."

"You did? You didn't want kids at the same time?' Amanda asked.

"When I sobered up? No. Everything sounded better after a pitcher of margaritas. I agreed to marry him after we were doing tequila shots," Trish laughed.

"That is such a lie," Lauren said. "She loves Bob and the kids. She was dying to settle down."

"All right. Fine," Trish conceded. "But I did try to not get knocked up the first few months…" she trailed off.

"Bob seems like a great dad," Amanda said.

"He is," Trish said. "The best."

"Do you think FDR is going to be a good dad?" Lauren asked.

"Yes," Amanda said.

"No," Trish told her.

The three of them laughed.

"He's actually probably going to be one of those really attentive dads that pisses off all the other dads at the park," Trish said.

"FDR has gone all out for the baby's room," Lauren said as she buttered another croissant. "I think we have enough for three newborns."

"I'm swooning," Amanda laughed.

"That is just weird," Trish said. "Bob wouldn't go near the baby stores."

"Why not?" Amanda asked.

"He figured most of his job was finished after he got me pregnant. It was like pulling teeth to get him to the birthing classes. I was lucky he drove me to the hospital when I went into labor. He's a great dad now, but those nine months were hell. This one over here makes it look so damn easy," Trish said.

"It's not easy," Lauren said. "I've got stretch marks and stuff..."

"I don't believe that for a second. You probably don't' even have any hemorrhoids. You probably don't even know what those are. I've got them right now, as we're sitting here," she said.

"Um, too much information," Amanda laughed.

"Don't you want to settle down?" Lauren asked Amanda.

"Because the both of you have sold marriage and children so well?" Amanda said. "I have kids already. As far as I'm concerned, I _am_ settled down."

"Only until your brother comes home," Lauren told her. "And then what?"

"And then what, what?" Amanda replied.

"Your plans? Your life? You're what? 27?" Trish asked.

"28," Amanda said.

"Oh, okay. Well, I stand corrected," Trish said. "But at some point, you won't be their sole caretaker and you can have a life. Have you considered that?"

"No," Amanda said honestly. "I guess I haven't."

"Well. We know you like Tuck," Lauren said. "Considering you just had a 90 hour sex-fest with him…"

"It wasn't _all_ sex…" Amanda argued. "Well, it was mostly sex. Besides, Tuck_ will _

Get tired of me. That's how it always seems to work out."

"What happened with your last boyfriend?" Trish asked.

"He freaked when he found out I had all the kids. Even when I told him they were

Nieces it didn't change his mind," she said.

"He was clearly an ass-hat," Trish said. "You aren't going to have to worry about

that with Tuck."

"Tuck has his own son to care for. Even if I'm not the girls' sole caretaker, Tuck

will still be a dad. That doesn't bother me one bit. But there will always be Katie."

"What grown woman goes by Katie anyway?" Trish asked. "I've never liked her."

"Lots of women go by Katie," Lauren told her.

"Shut up; I'm trying to comfort Amanda," Trish said.

"In a perfect world, women wouldn't be psycho when they got jealous, but…"

Amanda said. "I think she's going to be a bigger problem than even Tuck thought."

Amanda's cell phone rang and she read the display. An unfamiliar number.

"One sec," she said standing. "Hello?"

"Amanda Simons?" a female voice asked.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Denise Lemhoff, Department of Child and Family Services. We've had a claim

that we need to investigate," she said.

"Oh," Amanda said. "A claim of what?"

"I need to set up a time to meet with your nieces in the home," Denise said. "How is

Tomorrow night?"

"I thought you folks surprised people; I didn't know you made appointments."

"We do make appointments," the woman said. "Case by case."

"The girls will be home from Disneyland with their grandparents tonight, so

tomorrow after school should be fine."

"Hmm. How long were they out of school?"

"A week. But I've spoken to all of their teachers and I have their homework," Amanda explained. "What was the claim about?" she asked again.

"I can't tell you that, ma'am," Denise said fast.

"Well, I don't know if I want you in my home, bothering my girls if you won't tell me what I'm being investigated for," Amanda said.

"You were not home at the time of your two youngest nieces being kidnapped, correct?" Denise asked.

"That is classified information, ma'am," Amanda fired back.

"It will be much better if you cooperated with us, Ms. Simons."

"It's Agent Simons, Ms. Lemhoff. And I hope you know who you're dealing with."

"Are you threatening me?"

"You are referring to classified information. I will be more than happy to meet with you, so long as my lawyer is present."

"If you have nothing to hide, I see no reason why you would need a lawyer."

"I told you, it's classified, Ms. Lemhoff. I _will_ speak to you, so long as my lawyer says it's all right. I have nothing to hide because my girls are well taken care of. But until we have a time worked out, I think we're done."

Amanda ended the call and she walked back to the table.

"What's wrong?" Lauren asked, noting her worried expression.

"Someone called Child Protective Services on me. She said something about the kidnapping," Amanda told them in a low whisper.

"How is that even a real thing? Do they have any grounds for that?" Lauren said.

"No," Trish said firmly. "But I know CPS needs to investigate all the claims it gets."

"I wonder if Tuck got a call, too?" Amanda asked. "This could have something to do with the case.

…

Author's Note: As always, let me know what you thought …


	19. Chapter 19

A New War

Chapter 19

"No, no one has called me from CPS," Tuck told her.

He and Joe came over to the house to surprise the girls and Amanda's parents.

Joe was out in the living room playing with Thommas while Amanda and Tuck put the leaves in the table to expand it.

Amanda sighed. She knew there was no basis for the CPS claim, but it was making her anxious anyway.

"That doesn't mean I won't," Tuck told her.

Amanda put the placemats out and Tuck walked around the table to her.

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "It's going to be fine."

"I just don't know where this is coming from," Amanda said. "It's so frustrating."

"I know, but we'll get through it," Tuck told her.

"We?"

"We," he repeated.

Joe wandered into the dining room carrying the big furry cat.

"Your cat just sneezed in my ear," Joe told them.

"That means he likes you," she laughed.

"I thought so," Joe said. "Can he have some more of those treats?"

"He's probably had enough. But he likes his medicine off of a spoon. Wanna see?"

"Cool," Joe replied.

Tuck began to follow them back into the kitchen when his phone rang. He could hear his son's laughter while his phone rang. Tuck looked down to the display: Katie.

"What, Katie?" he said.

"Is that any way to greet your wife?"

Amanda had convinced him to not yell at her. In fact, she'd asked him to not mention the conversation she'd shared with his ex. Tuck had reluctantly agreed. But his resolve was crumbling.

"Ex-wife," he replied. "What do you need, Katie?" he asked.

"I was thinking you could bring Joe over at dinner time and we could all eat as a family," Katie said.

"We're having dinner with friends, actually. I'll have Joe home by the normal time," Tuck told her.

"I sure hope it's not that Amanda. I don't think I want her around my son…did you hear what she said to me? Did she even tell you that I stopped by the other day?" Katie asked.

"Of course she told me you were there," he said.

"She was so rude. Awful, really. Told me I wasn't welcome there…"

"Oddly enough, she didn't say that."

"She's a liar, obviously. And unfit to take care of those girls. It's no wonder someone called Child Protective Services on her," Katie said offhandedly.

"Who said anything about CPS?"

"One of my friends told me," Katie told him. "Honey…"

"Stay away from Amanda. And her nieces. I really hope you weren't the one to call CPS. It's a federal crime."

Tuck heard his son's laughter in the kitchen again. "Bye, Katie."

He needed to tell Amanda about Katie and the possibility that she called CPS. But the doorbell rang and then Jeanne let herself into the house.

"Well, hey there, Tuck," Jeanne said.

He moved to take the pizza boxes from the woman.

"Why didn't you let me come help you with these?" Tuck asked as they set the boxes down.

"I don't always need a man's help," Jeanne replied. "But you're so cute, I might change my stance on woman's lib."

Both of them laughed as Joe and Amanda came into the room.

"You got enough pizza to feed an army," Amanda said. "Thanks Jeanne."

"Well, the fella that owns the place is a friend of my husband. He threw me a great deal. Hey you! How are ya?" Jeanne asked Joe.

"I'm Joe," he said, holding out his hand to shake Jeanne's.

"Well, aren't you just a little gentleman?" Jeanne said. "No wonder Sophie likes you."

Tuck walked up to Amanda and touched her elbow to get her attention. "Can I talk to you for a quick moment?" he asked her.

"Uh, sure," she replied as she tried to read his expression.

He led her outside onto the deck and closed the door behind her. She leaned up to kiss him, but something was different.

"Something wrong?" Amanda asked.

"I just got off of the phone with Katie…"

"Oh. Okay," Amanda said. "What did she need?" Amanda asked as she tried to keep her tone level. She really didn't want to be the jealous girlfriend, no matter how she felt about the other woman.

"I don't know how else to tell you, so… I'm pretty certain that she was the call to CPS."

"What?"

"She mentioned something about it. I never told her about it, so…"

"I sure hope she knows what she's gotten herself into, Tuck," Amanda said angrily.

"Amanda, I'm sorry," he said as she began to walk back into the house.

"Yeah, well, it's not your problem if I lose the girls, is it?" she said before walking inside.

…

Monday morning rolled around and Amanda was getting the girls ready for school.

"Are you ready, Cam?" Amanda yelled up the stairs.

"My hair won't do anything!" she yelled back down to her aunt.

Amanda looked down at Sophie who had been glued to her side since she'd been home. Sophie shrugged and smiled. This was typical of her oldest sister.

"Do we really have to meet with that woman tonight?" Sophie asked.

Amanda crouched down to play with Sophie's ponytail. "Yes. I'm sorry. But I am going to do my best to get us out of it."

"I still don't understand," Sophie said. "You didn't kidnap us."

Amanda nodded. "You're right. If we have to meet with that lady, we'll be fine because we don't have anything to hide."

"She's going to be mad that I opened the door to a stranger, too."

"I'm not mad. Who's mad at you?"

"Grandma."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Your grandmother could never be mad at you no matter what you did. Even if you set her eyebrows on fire. And don't get any ideas…"

Sophie giggled. "Okay," she smiled.

This kid couldn't be down for long, no matter what.

"Cameron! You have forty seconds to get down here. We have got to go!"

Cameron stomped down the stairs a few seconds later with a hat pulled down over her eyes.

"Hats aren't allowed in school, Cam," Amanda said.

"But my hair…" Cameron whined.

Amanda snatched the hat from her oldest niece's head and looked at her.

"Oh my god!" she yelled in mock horror. "It must suck so much to have perfectly straight and non-frizzy blond hair."

"I wish my hair curled like yours," Cameron told Amanda.

"We can get you a perm," Amanda suggested.

"What's a perm?" Sophie asked.

"It's for girls who aren't happy with their straight hair," Alex told her little sister. "I personally enjoy having to do nothing with my hair in the morning. And so will you," Alex said.

"Well, it appears that I've taught one of you right. And now she's teaching the next generation."

She pulled all the girls into a tight hug. "I love you."

Cameron struggled out of the embrace a second later. "This family is so weird. Are we going?"

Amanda released the other two girls.

Once they were on the road, Amanda addressed them.

"Remember, please don't tell anyone I work for the CIA. And if you need anything, you can call me. Anytime, okay? What you girls went through was not a small thing. It was a big deal and I don't want you to think that it wasn't, okay?"

"Okay," the girls said together.

"Cam and Al, you will be in school til 2:30, like normal. Jeanne will pick you up out front your respective schools. Sophie, you will be picked up by Jeanne as 11," Amanda said. "And the woman is coming over at 6:30 unless I can pull some strings. You guys don't think I'm neglecting you, do you?"

"I think you spend _too_ much time with us…" Cameron told her. "By the way, are you and Tuck fighting?"

"Why would you ask that?" Amanda asked.

"Because you barely looked at him last night."

"You're 15. How do you notice stuff like that?" Amanda asked.

"You have to be old to see that people aren't talking to each other?" Cam asked.

"Oh, I'm old now?"

"Yes."

"Awesome."

"I think you're pretty," Sophie said from her seat behind Amanda.

"Thanks, honey."

"But that's not what we're talking about, Soph," Alex pointed out.

"Thanks, Alex," Amanda replied sarcastically.

"Don't you want to get married and have kids of your own?" Cam asked.

"Uh…" Amanda said. She was caught off guard. Where the hell was this coming from?

Luckily, they were in front of the high school.

"Okay, well, have a great day, Cam!" Amanda said.

Cam rolled her eyes and exited the vehicle.

Alex was smart enough that she said nothing on the ride from the high school to the junior high. But once it was just Sophie and Amanda in the car, the little girl was clearly on a mission.

"I think you should have a baby with Tuck," Sophie said.

"What?"

….

Author's note: Let me know… :{)


	20. Chapter 20

A New War

Chapter 20

After a week of her intentionally ducking him and not answering his phone calls, Tuck couldn't stand it any longer. He cornered Amanda in the kitchen on their floor of the building.

"How much longer are you going to pretend I don't exist?" Tuck as her as he closed the door behind him.

Amanda did not look up; she continued to stir her cup of coffee.

"I'm not pretending that you don't exist. I'm simply trying to avoid your presence and not give your ex-wife any more reason to come after my family."

Someone tried to open the door, but Tuck put his hand up to keep the door from opening any further. He slammed it closed again.

"How did the visit go?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" Amanda replied coldly.

"Because I do. What happened?" Tuck asked. "Look at me."

"Well, I'm not being investigated by CPS, but I'm not going to be taking care of the girls anymore," Amanda told him.

"What?" Tuck asked. "I don't think I understand."

"My brother-in-law showed up at the house four days ago. No warning. He's done. Honorable discharge from active duty. And he's moving into the house."

"Why didn't you call me?" Tuck asked.

"Because I…I chickened out. I haven't been nice to you and you didn't deserve that kind of treatment. And I know I should be incredibly happy that Greg has come back into his girls' lives for good, I feel like…empty," a tell-tale tear fell down her cheek. "Damn it," she said as she wiped it away.

Tuck pulled her into a tight hug.

"You have every right to be upset."

"I just…got so close to them. I was there when each one of those girls was born. I cut their umbilical cords. I'm not trying to complain about him, because he was doing something so incredibly important, but what happens now?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know," he said into her hair. "But we'll figure it out. We'll get through it. On the brighter side, were the girls happy to see their dad?"

Amanda took a step back from Tuck and smiled. "Holy shit. When he showed up in the damn doorway, Sophie wouldn't stop crying and Alex and Cameron knocked a six foot six Marine down to the ground. You should have seen the look on Jeanne's face."

"Are you all going to live together then?" he asked.

"I think I'm going to find an apartment. Greg is going to work as a Marine recruiter here in the area, so he'll only be gone during the day. He's going to keep Jeanne on, though. He wanted to know if he should find a new place, but I don't think he should move the girls again. They've just gotten used to this house."

"No, I suppose that would be rough for them," Tuck replied.

"So, I'm selling him the house and its furniture," Amanda explained.

"So you are essentially homeless and furniture-less," Tuck said. "Just so you know, you're welcome to stay with me."

"I appreciate that, Tuck. But I leave tomorrow," Amanda told him.

"What?" Tuck asked. "Leave for where?"

"It's an undercover deal. And it's extremely classified," Amanda told him.

"You can't even tell me?"

"Collins told me specifically not to say anything," Amanda told him.

Tuck sighed.

"So tomorrow, you're just not going to be here?" he asked.

"It's more like in 18 hours I'm not going to be here," Amanda replied.

"When did you find out about this?"

Amanda looked down at her feet. "Two days ago."

Tuck said nothing, but turned and put his fist through the drywall next to him.

"Tuck…" Amanda started.

"Did you ask Collins to send you or was this in the works?"

"Tuck…"

"Answer me."

"I asked Collins to send me," Amanda told him. "I asked if there was anything…"

Tuck shook his head. "You're just going to run away. You're up and leaving. Those girls need you."

"Those girls have their father and they need him a hell of a lot more than they need me. I got them kidnapped. And I'm not running away!" she yelled at him. He wasn't looking at her and she couldn't stand it. "This is what happens sometimes with this job. You can't stand there and make me feel guilty because I'm going to be gone for a while. It could have just as well as been you that got sent away."

Tuck looked back up into her eyes. "That's the logic you're going to use?" he asked her. "It could have been me?"

"Why are you so mad about this?" Amanda asked him. "I know it's not ideal, but it isn't the end of the world."

"You want to know why I'm mad? I'm mad because I've totally fallen for you and now you're leaving. Why is your natural reaction to run away?" he asked quietly.

The door to the kitchen opened and interrupted their conversation.

"What the hell are you two doing in here?" FDR asked as he walked in. "I am glad to find out that I didn't just interrupt sex." He stopped and poked his head out the door way. "Turner, you lost!"

They heard a distant, "aww, man!" from a man's voice out in the office.

"Franklin, it is not the time right now," Tuck said.

"I don't care; this isn't your own private kitchen that the two of you can use for your own strange reasons," FDR told them. "We need coffee and we're all too lazy to walk to another floor to get it. Now, what the hell are you doing in here?"

"Why don't you tell him, Amanda?" Tuck said.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell that many…"

Tuck laughed sarcastically. "Like the people here aren't going to know when you aren't here tomorrow?" he said.

"Wait, what?" FDR said.

"Why is everyone surprised that I'm going undercover? That's what we've all trained for!" she said.

Amanda started to push past the two men in the kitchen area when Collins came into view.

She was staring at them, hands on her hips and a stern look on her face.

"I want to see you and Tuck in my office, immediately," Collins said. "Follow me right now."

"Perfect," Amanda hissed under her breath.

She started to follow Collins who had turned on her heel and started walking towards her office.

Tuck started to follow her, but FDR tapped his shoulder.

"Did you do that?" he pointed to the fist-shaped hole in the wall.

Tuck said nothing, but nodded his head slightly before continuing his walk out of the kitchen.

…

Once in Collins' office, both Tuck and Amanda were seated opposite her at her desk.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Collins asked. "You're screaming at each other in the kitchen on your floor. I get that you're romantically involved, but keep it from my building. Keep it away from your work!" she said, standing up.

"We understand," Amanda said. "I'm sorry that we let this…"

"You're sending her out so quickly?" Tuck asked.

"Excuse me?" Collins asked.

Tuck remained seated, but he was leaned forward towards Collins.

"She's going through some stuff and you're letting her run away," Tuck said.

Collins smiled a devious, almost evil smile. She stood from her chair and walked around to the front of her desk to lean on it between the two of them.

Amanda was staring at her feet while Tuck hadn't broken eye contact with Collins yet.

"Agent Simons volunteered to take on this particular mission because the agent that had been assigned to it is going through her father passing away. It happened to fall during a time that she is able to go and I'm happy to send her because she meets the qualifications better than the previous agent," Collins said evenly. "I shouldn't tell you this, because I _don't_ want to get involved in your personal lives and I _definitely_ don't want to let your personal lives get in the way of what Amanda has to go do. But Amanda is being sent to Las Vegas. There's a burlesque club there, and Amanda is going undercover to help us bring down the mob that is using it as their cover. They're bringing in drugs, money, and women," Collins said. "The owner, Frankie, is an old friend of mine, and they've got her in a bad place. Now, do you feel better now that you know?"

…

Author's Note…okay, there ya go…what do you think about this new turn of events?


	21. Chapter 21

A New War

21

Opening her eyes, she looked around the room. She did not recognize where she was for a minute. A moment more, and Amanda knew where she was. It was not her bedroom and it wasn't Tuck's apartment.

She was in the shithole apartment that the agency put her up in. She would probably re-think ever volunteering for something like this again, if she survived this. Amanda wasn't so sure if 'shithole' was a strong enough term for the apartment that she was currently staying in.

She roused herself from the almost-comfort of the bed. Amanda went and inspected herself in the mirror and almost didn't recognize herself, but that was probably the blond hair, dyed with extensions, on the top of her head that had replaced her dark curls.

It would have looked out of place, but they had smartly taken care of her eyebrows as well. And spray-tanned to booth.

"I probably should have gone with the red hair," she said out loud to herself as she twisted the pink streak of hair around her finger.

Despite her complete distaste for her new look, which now included an eyebrow piercing, she looked at least five years younger. And that was going to be beneficial right now.

She was going by Mandy now. Her driver's license reflected her new name and her old hometown of a fictitious birthday that made her three years younger.

She sighed and pulled the long blond hair into a ponytail and headed to the shower. Today was going to be a long day.

…

"She's been gone like an hour, dude," FDR said as he threw a ball of paper at his best friend's face.

Tuck snapped out of his trance and stared at him angrily.

"She's been gone since last night."

"At least you guys made up before she left," FDR said. "It's unlikely that she's going to do some other guy this way."

Tuck chucked a ball of paper at FDR's forehead and connected right between the eyes.

"Are you not worried about her?" FDR asked.

"I'm not worried about her sleeping with someone else," Tuck said under his breath. "I'm more worried about her in general. I don't know where she was going," he lied.

"I'm kind of surprised that Collins wouldn't tell you; considering the circumstances," FDR said. "You want to hack into the system and find her?"

"As much fun as that sounds…" Tuck trailed off.

"You didn't get laid before she left," FDR said. "That's why you're distracted."

"Do you have to announce it to the whole building? Maybe you should send out a mass email to make sure everyone knows," Tuck spat.

"Will you relax, man?" FDR said. "I love you, but you're going to drive yourself crazy if you don't think about something else. What came from Katie's CPS call?"

"Amanda decided not to press charges and if she doesn't put in her own claim against Katie, CPS looks at it as a legit claim that they needed to investigate. Katie won't get taken to court and there are, of course, no charges against Amanda," Tuck explained. "I just can't believe that she'd do something like that."

FDR stood from his desk and walked to sit on the edge of Tuck's. "Can I tell you something? And you have to promise to not be mad at me?"

"No," Tuck said, his eyebrows furrowed. "You generally have done something awful when you preface like that."

"All right, well, Katie once told me that she stopped taking her birth control when you guys were…you know…"

"What? Why…?"

"She intentionally got pregnant when you guys were about to break up for good so you wouldn't leave her," FDR said.

"That's ridiculous," Tuck said.

"Is it?"

"She just old you one day?" he asked. "Out of nowhere?"

"It was the night that we were celebrating my birthday. You got a sitter for Joe and we were all drinking at the bar. You got up to call and check on Joe and she just looked at me and wound up telling me. That was right before she threw up over the bar," FDR explained.

Tuck remembered the night. Joe was just a little over a year old.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but you seemed so happy with Katie, it didn't matter. And then when you guys broke up, well, it mattered even less," FDR said.

"Does Lauren know?" Tuck asked.

"Um…"

"It's all right, mate," he said as he slapped his friend on the shoulder. "I wouldn't give up my son for the world. He's the best thing in the world. Things happen for a reason."

"Maybe you should have another kid so we could have kids that grow up together," FDR smiled.

"I think I'd have to find a willing woman at this point in the game."

"I think you'd probably have a likely candidate in Amanda…"

"It scares me when you get all philosophical," Tuck said. "I'm never prepared."

"I like to catch you off guard," FDR said. "Come on. Let's go get some lunch."

"And then we should probably do some work."

"Nah," he said waving his hand.

…

"Size six?" he asked her as he examined her.

"On a good day," Amanda replied.

Amanda was stripped down to her tank top and leggings while the club's costume designer looked her over.

"Do I really need costumes for a waitress gig? Can't I just wear something black?" she asked.

"Oh, darling, I think you're confused. You'll be dancing."

Amanda's mouth fell open.

Johnny put a hand to her chin and gently closed it. He shook his head. "Not a good look, baby."

He turned and pulled a couple things from the rack.

"Here, go over there, try these on. And I want to see you in each one of these outfits. I make the decisions, not you," he told her.

Amanda had met Johnny a mere 10 minutes ago and now she was taking fashion orders from him.

She accepted the articles of clothing wordlessly. She turned around on her heel and headed to a small area in the corner with a curtain.

A second later, she came out in a sparkly, mostly spandex, costume.

"Your boobs are fabulous! And I'm gay and I love your boobs anyway! That's a fantastic sign!"

"Thank you?"

"They're real right?" he said as he touched them.

"Yes, they are," Amanda nodded.

"Like a D-cup, right? You're going to need some amazing pasties."

"Pasties?"

"You know," he said as he did a small whirl with his fingers at chest height.

"I really thought I was hired as a waitress," Amanda told him as he held up another costume to her body.

"Well, I need a dancer now," a woman's voice said.

A second later, the woman known as Frankie (short for Francesca), walked into full view. Upon first look, she reminded Amanda of a weird combo of Cher, Ann Margaret and Pam Anderson. She was slightly shorter than Amanda as she stood barefoot in the dressing room.

"Do you have a problem with this?" Frankie asked.

"Of course not," Amanda replied. "I really need a job."

"Here, go try this one on," Johnny said as he handed her a hot pink and black number.

"Can she dance?" Johnny asked when Amanda walked away.

"She was a stripper," Frankie lied.

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked. "She doesn't seem like an exhibitionist."

Amanda overheard the conversation even though she had actively tried to ignore it. She finished wiggling into the ridiculous outfit and pulled the curtain back.

This outfit left little to the imagination and stopped Johnny mid-sentence.

"Never mind," Johnny muttered as Amanda did a turn.

"She'll be fine," Frankie smiled.

…

"Now, I normally don't take the new girls out for coffee, but I'm fairly certain my whole place is bugged," Frankie explained.

They were seated at a small café off of the strip. They were seated at the only table outside and there were zero people around them. No one was going to bother them.

"I have very basic info as to what's going on. Would you fill me in a little more?" Amanda asked.

"Well, my now-deceased husband made a deal with the mob out here. You know, old-school, grab you while you're not looking, drive you out to the desert, shoot you and leave your body for the buzzards kind of mob."

"I get it," Amanda said. She had her long hair pulled into a long braid that fell over her shoulder. Large sunglasses covered most of her face.

"Well, since I'm never going to be able to make good on the money for my husband's loan and they aren't the forgiving type, they run the club."

"They _run_ it?"

"It used to be a straight cabaret. Sideshows, sexy burlesque and we did have a bit of a boost from that movie a few years back, but in the slow times, well they're running drugs, and money. And sometimes women.

"My girls used to be tasteful, but seductive performers. Now some of them are strippers and some of them are hookers."

"The mob guys, they in there often?" Amanda asked.

"Every night," she said dejectedly. "Are you ready for this?"

"To be a stripper turned burlesque dancer who is actually a stripper and possible hooker?" Amanda asked. "I'm sure there's room on my resume for that."

"You used to be a brunette, right?"

"Are my roots showing already? I had this done yesterday."

"Oh, no. I can just tell. I've been in this business a long time. Well, we should be going. You've got a dozen dance routines to learn. You have danced before, right?"

"A dozen?" Amanda said as she stood from the chair.

"A dozen," Frankie told her.

"Yeah, I used to dance."

"How about lapdances?" Frankie asked as they headed back towards the club.

…

The whole first day that Amanda was gone was difficult for Tuck. He almost felt bad lying to FDR, but he knew he couldn't divulge the whereabouts of Amanda to anyone. It would compromise her as well as the case. And he definitely wasn't able to call her. And he really wanted to call her. He knew it wasn't just because he had feelings for her. He wanted to make sure she was safe.

This is what led him to Collins' office.

"I just don't know what you would do in a burlesque club, Tuck," Collins said, sitting back in her chair.

"I just mean, should she have gone by herself?" Tuck asked.

"You don't sound like you have much faith in your girlfriend."

"Of course, I have faith in her," Tuck said. "But it's always good when someone's got your back when you're out in the field."

"One of the bouncers is undercover, as well," Collins said.

"Oh."

"Tuck, I know you've got feelings for the woman and…"

"Director Collins', I mean this with the most respect possible, I would appreciate that you would quit accusing me of letting my feelings cloud my work. My concern at this point in time is to make sure she's okay as a coworker versus simply a girlfriend," Tuck said.

"Well said," Collins smiled. "Well said, but I know that it is total and complete bull shit."

…

Author's note: what did you think? Let me know!


	22. Chapter 22

A New War

Chapter 22

It had been three weeks since Amanda had joined the crew at Frankie's club, which Amanda quickly learned had no name. It simply held a sign above the door that read cabaret.

So far, in the 17 nights that she'd worked, she had seen just about the whole business ran through club. And she also quickly learned that most of the other girls turned a blind eye to the goings on. Well, _that_ and some of them were the actual products of the business that these men were doing.

The twins, Lara and Lana, were from eastern Russia, Amanda thought. Michelle was from the south of France and Sofia was from Sicily. All of them had been "found" by a "talent agent" and brought here to Las Vegas. Only to find out they were going to be dancers, strippers, and possible prostitutes.

Stacy, Dee, Kellie, Rox and Markie were strippers by profession that were lured here by mob guys that were always in the place. She suspected this was the group of drug users, but Amanda wasn't totally certain yet.

The routine was this: choreographed shows Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 and 8:45. At 10:30, the club closed down and at 11, it re-opened as a gentleman's club. The women that had been dancing in legit, burlesque performances became strippers. Saturday nights, some of them even got totally nude.

So far, Amanda had been able to avoid actual stripping performances by being a social butterfly. When she wasn't dancing with the group on the stage, Amanda was floating around, smiling and flirting with the men. She was getting to know their names and what exactly they did at the club. She was gathering intel to send back to HQ. But it looked like she was just enjoying perching in some man's lap while he played poker and put bills in her bra strap.

Amanda had been sending her reports back to California in encrypted emails, but she hadn't been able to talk to anyone back home. She missed her desk job, and her bed. And Tuck. And especially her nieces. Living alone really sucked.

A voice broke her from her thoughts.

"How come we never see you up there?" he asked.

She smiled back at the man who was talking to her. Vince Jr. He was one of the younger men in the operation; he was probably only thirty-five versus the rest of the men in their sixties that were really running the joint. He tugged on her hand and out of habit, she smiled wider. Vince _was_ a little cute.

Vince pulled harder on her hand and down into his lap.

"Seriously, we all know you can move," he told her.

She felt the blush creep up her face.

Why was she blushing?

Amanda thought of Tuck and felt a pang; a mixture of guilt and sadness. She really missed him.

"I'm just shy," Amanda told him sweetly.

Vince laughed and played with the fringe skirt falling over her bare thigh.

"Mandy, I don't think you could be shy if you tried."

Amanda shrugged innocently.

"I think you should go up there. Tonight. Right now," he smiled at her.

"Tonight?"

"Yup," Vince replied. "What do you think fellas?" he asked the rest of the men at the table.

A round of grunts signaled their approval.

"See?" Vince smiled. He had a charming smile. He also had a receding hairline and a beer gut, but at least his smile was charming.

"Well, I'm not prepared," she whispered in his ear. "I wouldn't want to be embarrassed."

Her head was turned so she didn't see that another man had strolled into the club. He spotted her, though.

"Honey, I don't think you could do anything to embarrass yourself," Vince told her. It was clear that he had a thing for her. Markie was topless on the stripper pole in the center of the stage and he didn't even look away from Amanda.

"I don't know…"

"My son said he wants to see you up there, sweetheart. So, you'll be going up there. Next," an older gentleman told her. Vince's dad. Vincent Sr.

Unlike his son, nothing about Vincent Sr. was charming. He had full head of silver hair and a thick neck. And he talked like he was really trying to be Joe Pesci.

"So, get going, honey," Vincent Sr. told her. "And wear something see-through," he said as she stood to leave.

Amanda joined the other women backstage. She'd been practicing for just such an occasion, but it didn't mean that she was excited at the idea.

As Amanda was going through the racks of costumes, Johnny, or aka Mr. Sexy as he decided he wanted to be called that night while he wore his skintight leather pants, came in and handed her a note.

"Who is that from?" Amanda asked.

"Do you think I read_ your_ note?" Johnny asked.

From behind the ornate screen in the dressing room, she laughed. "Of course you read it."

"Okay, okay, I did."

"So? What is it?" she asked. "I've got to get changed."

"It's from your number one fan, Vinny."

"He hates being called Vinny."

"Not the point. The note says that he wants you to go home with him tonight," Johnny told her.

Amanda popped her head out from the screen. "What? He wants me to sleep with him?"

"Oh, Mandy. I don't think _sleeping_ is what he had in mind."

Amanda walked out in her costume for her performance.

"Damn, where were you hiding the abs?" he poked her stomach.

"Well, Mr. Sexy, I definitely have worked my ass off the last couple of weeks."

"So, you're finally going to go home with him?" Johnny asked.

"No."

"I don't know if that's an option," Johnny told her.

"Mandy! You're on!" a voice shouted.

"I'll figure it out, Johnny. Don't worry."

Amanda heard the music start and she dashed out of the room.

There was no time to be nervous now. She had to look like she'd done this as a job before.

Amanda was taking calculated steps as she walked out onto the stage. She had a floor length coat on the dark stage. She looked around the room and made eye contact with Vince. The man was grinning at her from ear to ear.

She began her practiced routine and the crowd of men were hooting and hollering. Apparently, they had all been waiting for her to do this.

She did her final turn and looked into the audience. And met the single pair of eyes. She recognized with her whole body.

Amanda struggled to finish the last of the routine and rushed from the stage.

"That was a quick exit," Johnny told her as he followed her into the room.

"I know," Amanda said. "I know."

"They really liked you," he smiled. "You'll probably be added to the regular line up. If you can walk tomorrow," he winked.

"Hey!" Kellie popped her head in the room while Amanda rushed to get dressed again. "Vince wants to buy you a drink."

"Can you tell him I'll be right there?" Amanda asked. She needed a few more minutes to compose herself before she wandered back out as a stripper in front of Tuck.

Kellie nodded and disappeared.

"You can get yourself a sugar daddy, honey," Johnny said. "I expect since I dress you, that you'll share the wealth," he smiled.

"I don't really want a sugar daddy," Amanda said as she fixed her lip gloss. "Too much work."

"You sound like you've had one before."

"I did," Amanda lied. "A lot of pretending and faking that I was having a good time…if you know what I mean. And I didn't have enough time to get him to change the will before he died," she continued to make up the story.

"Oh, boo," Johnny said, smoothing her hair. "We have to do your roots tomorrow, okay?"

"Are they that bad?"

"No! No! But they need to be done sooner rather than later. Now, go out there and claim your man."

Amanda smiled a huge smile and strutted out of the room.

Tuck had watched the entire performance and he had to make sure he kept his mouth closed. He'd read the reports; they definitely didn't include this bit in them. Collins had suspected that she was leaving some parts out and had finally decided to let Tuck come out here.

Tuck was really worried about her. And even more now that he was watching another man groping her.

Temporarily ignoring what was happening on the other side of the room, he walked up to the bar and got the bartender's attention.

"Hey, mate," Tuck said. "Do these girls ever go home with any of these blokes?"

"Depends how much cash they've got on them," he replied over the loud bead of the music that just started.

"How much do they normally go for?"

"Couple a hundred."

"Who do I talk to?"

The bartender smacked his gum and pointed to the back of the place. "His name is Vincent."

"Thanks, mate," Tuck said.

"Hey, tell him Austin sent you!" he called.

Tuck waved his thanks and headed towards Vincent.

Once Tuck was there, he made sure he could still see Amanda on the other side of the club. She was laughing and giggling with the man who had his hand on her ass. He tried to calm himself, but he was pissed as hell.

He needed to talk to Amanda.

"Excuse me," Tuck said as he approached Vincent.

The man turned and looked up at Tuck.

"Who the hell are you?" Vincent asked.

"I was told to talk to you in case I wanted to take one of these lovely creatures home for the night," Tuck told him.

Vincent surveyed Tuck. Tuck was dressed nicely, in a pair of pants and a button up shirt. His dress shirt was short sleeved and it showed off some of his tattoos as well as his muscles.

"You don't look like you need to be buying," Vincent said.

Tuck shrugged. "It's easier, mate," Tuck said, his teeth clenched.

Vincent nodded slowly. "Which one you have your eye on?"

"The tall blond. That one," he pointed to Amanda who was now in that man's lap, smiling.

"Oooh, see, I don't think so. My kid, the one with the blond in his lap, he wants her, so…"

"I've got a thousand," he said, pulling a wad of cash for him to see.

Vincent contemplated it. "All right. You got it, kid. I like you. Are you foreign?"

Tuck smiled. "Yes, I'm English."

"I like that. I think you should join our little operation here. You take Mandy home tonight and then let me know who she was tomorrow. We'll play a little game of poker. You like cigars?"

"I do," Tuck said.

"Good," Vincent nodded. "I think we're going to get along real well."

Vincent took the cash from Tuck's hand and he waved one of the bouncers over. He came forward and Vincent told him something. He nodded and moved to Amanda.

Vince Jr. frowned when the bouncer spoke to them. He shot Tuck a dirty look while Amanda kissed him on the cheek. Tuck watched as Amanda climbed out of the man's lap and looked straight at him.

His chest tightened as the woman started to walk towards him. As she drew closer, his eyes started at her feet, up her bare legs, and all the way up to her face. She was tanned, blond and had an eyebrow piercing, but it was definitely all Amanda.

"Hi," she said sweetly. "I'm Mandy," she said, extending her hand.

"James," he said.

"Bond?" Amanda asked, smiling.

"We'll find out later, won't we?" one of his eyebrows went up.

"Who the hell are you?" Vince Jr. asked as he came up behind Amanda.

"He's paid for Mandy tonight, kid," Vincent Sr. said. "Suck it up."

"It's all right, Vince," Amanda said to him softly. She touched his hand and his anger seemed to calm down slightly.

"I'll take good care of her, mate," Tuck said, slapping the man on the shoulder, probably a little harder than he should. But at least he didn't punch the man in the face like he'd intended. "You wanna get out of here, darling?" he said, letting his accent come out completely.

"You sound like Jack Sparrow," she giggled.

Vincent Sr. rolled his eyes. Just another bimbo. His son didn't need that anyway.

"Let's go."

"I just need to get my purse."

…

Author's Note…let me know what you thought! Thank you!


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